When I awoke, the sky outside was dark, the stars and the nearly-full moon shining in through the living room's window. The night was clear and there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground.
It took me a full minute of looking around and holding my breath to realize what had happened over the last three days and where I was now. I'd nearly been murdered, and I had spent the last few days comatose (And then drunk) at Zarek's home. God, my head was killing me.
Spawn was right- even though I had felt the effects of the alcohol wearing off and I stopped saying stupid things by the time we'd returned to his house, I still had to endure a hangover the next day. Night. Whatever time it was.
I looked at the clock. It was almost 5:00 AM. Had Spawn gone upstairs? If so, why the hell was I still in the living room?
I sat up and stretched, feeling pain in my back from resting at an odd angle on the couch. I winced, remembering that I had said some stupid things last night after we'd gotten back.
I had told Spawn about all of the lies my 'mother' and I had told over my lifetime. But hey, I had to tell someone, and Spawn seemed like the best candidate, especially since my life was unraveling and he was one of the only people who wasn't trying to murder me or lie to me in return.
I still remembered my mother explaining to me why she lied on my behalf, and the answer had worried me, even then. She had leaned down to my six year old level, smiling to me with large, frightened looking grey eyes when I'd asked her why she'd lied about me, again.
"Honey, don't you like games of pretend?" Another nervous smile as she brushed back my bangs and put shaking hands on my shoulders. "It's just like a game. If anyone asks, make something up about yourself, but make them believe it. And if they don't listen," She reached under my collar and took out the coin I'd worn since my papa had brought it back from Greece, "Just show them this and say you're protected. And if that doesn't work..."
Her eyes grew distant, and I heard her murmur a name under her breath.
"Who's Ebony?" I asked incredulously, curling my lip. "I don't like that name. Does she scare you?"
"Why would you say that?" Laughed my mother, who looked like she was falling apart. I frowned at her.
"I can feel it," I told her. She looked even more nervous after I had spoken, and I regretted my words. "Sorry, mommy, you told me not to use that, but I can't help it, sometimes I hear things and-"
"Don't apologize, imora," She whispered, holding me against her. "Just be careful. You never know who could be listening."
Ah. So that was why the Atlantean endearment had sounded so familiar to me. Yes, vaguely I remembered being called this by both of my parents and even by my little sister for most of my childhood.
I closed my eyes. I hated thinking about what my childhood had been. It had been weirdness and lies. My brothers and my sister hadn't been through what I had, at least Kaitly hadn't had such a rough time. She'd been lied about, but at least she didn't get the looks of worry and fear from out mother and father like I had. And I knew why I had now.
I was a destructive force. I should just end it now and make them all deal with the consiquences, the fall out-
Yes. Imora. Destroy them all and set me free. Destroy Strykerius, Apostolos, and everyone who has ever wronged you.
"Stay out of this."
But my dearest little-
"Your other daughter is the reason I had to lie about my childhood. Who the hell are you backing nowadays?"
My children.
"Both of us?"
Whoever has my favor, who sacrifices the most for me.
"You mean like-"
I am speaking withing the terms of a blood sacrifice, yes. I frowned.
"Well, I just had my throat slit in your name, so does that mean you're backing me?"
Not necessarily.
I froze, speaking aloud slowly and softly. "What do you mean? My blood was spilled. In your name."
By whom?
"Iccarius," I replied slowly.
And whose path does he follow?
"Ebony," I whispered.
Precisely.
"So you're spying for them?" I gasped. "Is that how Iccarius knew about Spawn and I? And how to find me at the hotel?"
I spy for no man.
"Funny," I muttered, making my way into the kitchen. "Ebony isn't a man."
If you wish to earn my favor, make a blood sacrifice.
"I don't need your fucking help," I hissed angrily. "I owe nothing to you."
Nothing but life.
"Nothing but pain!" I countered. I almost heard a sigh from the back of my mind. "You got me into this mess. Why couldn't I have just been born into a nice, normal family?"
You were. And then my wretched sister stole you away from us and forced you into lies. She stole you from me, all of your sisters, and-
"Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait. All of my sisters?" I took a second to think. "As in more than one?"
One was reborn into a human state along side you. She volunteered to do so to keep you safe, and then my sister sent her away.
"Kaitly?" I cried, rushing to look for my phone. "I am going to call her to ask her to back up your story. I think you're full of bullshit."
She doesn't remember. She was forced to promise to relinquish all memories of Olympus and Atlantis to accompany you.
"Why the hell would she do that?" I cried.
Ebony would have killed her, and your other sisters.
"How many." My voice was quiet and deadly.
Five in all. Lilith, Kaitly, Taria, and of course you and your sister. Lilith is oldest. You were the youngest.
"What happened to them after I died?"
Lilith was thrown to earth as well. She was murdered as a Roman princess some time after you. Taria disappeared, and none of her line are known to have survived. Kaitly, of course, followed you into the next life, and you know that Ebony was chained in Olympus up until recently.
"Until recently?" I cried. "She's free?"
"Who's free?" Inquired a voice fro behind me. I looked behind to see Spawn walking in the front door. "I had to go on patrol for a while, sorry. Who are you talking to?"
Mom, I mouthed. He nodded in understanding, and walked upstairs, giving me privacy.
I thought you knew.
"Well, no, I thought she was giving orders from...Oh, shit, shit, shit. She knows where I am, doesn't she?"
Of course. Who do you think liberated Iccarius from his wood shed prison, who do you think awakened him in the first place for battle?
It sickened me to think of Ebony being that close to Spawn. She could have hurt him in any way, could have even killed him. No, I'd kill her before she thought of something like that.
By the way;
"What?" I snapped angrily. She seemed taken aback.
I restored most of Ebony's powers for the upcoming battle. I pride myself upon being a goddess of fairness, so I will restore yours as well.
"No, Aria, I-"
Apparently 'no' wasn't in my mother's vocabulary, though, because at that moment I felt a hot shock run through my veins, encasing me with a glow that would blind a human. I threw my head back and screamed bloody fucking murder from the pain of it, and I felt the shock travel up my bones to my skull.
Then it knocked my lights out.
Spawn jumped when he heard the inhuman shriek from downstairs. He ran for the door and was at the head of the stairs when he caught sight of Ivory's body in the living room, sprawled out by the couch.
"Holy shit!" He cursed loudly, running down the stairs three at a time. "Ivory! Are you okay?"
Of course she wasn't. She was fucking unconsious.
He reached her body and saw blood dripping from her mouth, her eyes closed and her mouth forming words in a language too old for either of them to really understand. He shook her shoulders, trying to rouse her, but to o avail.
Spawn was panicking, checking for a heartbeat, when her eyes fluttered open again and she pinned him with a gaze that almost stopped his own heart.
Her eyes were black, rimmed with a deep bloody red.
~*~
I was confused when Spawn gave me a look of shock and almost disgust as he let go of me, letting me fall back onto the floor. I gave him my worst glare in return, standing.
"Well, that wasn't very nice. Why'd you-"
"Your eyes. They're..." He seemed at a loss for words, and so I turned around to look into the mirror by the door. I looked back at him, at the verge of a breakdown, a scream on my lips.
"Fuck!"
"Uh, not my first choice of words, but whatever. What the hell happened?"
I touched my face again, feeling the electrical current that surged under my skin, and I looked up at him with rage on my face. "My mother. That's what happened."
"Did she..." He looked worried and then angry. "Did she come here? Did she hurt you?"
"No and yes, I guess. She..." I closed my eyes, not wanting to be faced with this reality again. "She restored my goddess powers." He fell silent for a minute and then he spoke again.
"Well." His voice was short and sharp. "There's no reason for you to stay if you're a goddess and you can defend yourself."
"Fuck that," I said, crossing my arms and opening my eyes to glare at him. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Why?" He snapped. "You're a goddess now, you don't need a lowly Dark-Hunter to protect you. Your kind us supposed to hate us."
I walked over so that I hatd to crane my neck to look into his eyes. "I'm not asking a lowly Dark-Hunter to protect me. I'm asking you." I meant for it to sound sort of sweet, but the fact that I yelled it and poked him roughly in the chest might have defeated the whole 'nice' effect.
"Why are you asking me of all people?" He demanded, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me closer to him. I forced myself to keep eye contact with him, even though I was pretty sure my black-red eyes disgusted him.
"Because I trust you."
"Well, that's your problem."
"Are you going to kick me out?" I inquired softly, my eyes pleading to him. He sighed, turning away, wandering into the kitchen.
"You shouldn't have come here in the first place," He called to me. I sighed.
"So what?" I followed him, sitting down in one of the chairs at he table. "I'm here anyway. Don't try and kick me out."
"Well, now I know I can't. By the way, we're breaking all of the rules of contuct by keeping you here."
"So?" I muttered. "Not like I've never broken the rules before. No one will care."
"Right. Because I hear that the Olympians are really lax on their 'goddesses being involved with the damned' policies."
"Who's going to tell?" I asked, my eyes on him as he began a pot of coffee.
"Certainly not me." I gasped, turing at the sound of the light voice, thinking it might have been my mother.
I released my breath when I spied Aphrodite standing in the doorway in a light blue gown, her hair down around her slim shoulders and everything about her seeming strange in this place. She kept her gaze on me, but I saw her eyes flicker to Spawn for less than a second.
"Hunter. Leave."
"No," He said indiginantly. "I don't know what you're going to do to her, goddess."
She shot him a withering look that was at odds with her beauty. "Leave before I shoot you with a bolt. I don't want to upset Ivory, but if I must, I will."
"Spawn," I hissed under my breath. "Other room. Now."
"Could he possibly step outside?" She asked innocently, and I frowned out the window.
"It's almost dawn."
"Exactly."
Spawn growled low in his throat, stepping forward, but I walked over to him and glared up at him with my new eyes. "Oh, just go upstairs. Get some rest."
"I don't trust her," He whispered to me, damn well aware that she could hear him. I pushed him lightly, shaking my head, and then I pulled myself up onto my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. He shot her one last warning glance before he was gone.
"You two..." She trailed off, looking out the window and shaking her head. "You shouldn't be together. It's dangerous for you both."
"We're not together, we're just..." I frowned. "Well, I don't really know what we are."
"I do," She taunted. I glowered at her.
"Fine, O Goddess of love. What are we?" She shook her head, smiling softly and taking a seat at the table.
"Hm. We had a situation like this a while ago...Well, you haven't been stolen, but there's a war and it's been caused by a woman's beauty and the jealous nature of men. And people are going to die. Just some advice, don't let the other side give you any gifts."
"Too late," I muttered, pointing to my eyes. She frowned.
"Did Aria actually give you back all of your powers?"
"I don't think all of them. It happened about five minutes ago, so I've yet to try out my powers."
"You should try them. You might have some pretty cool stuff." I paused, thinking of my response.
"Aphrodite, I have to ask you something." She nodded and I continued, "I stopped having my sister's visions after I spoke to you, but that was the same time that my mother wormed her way into my mind. Did you have something to do with it?"
"I put up a barrier between your mind and your sister's, yes, but the human psyche is a fragile one, and when I put up the block between you and Ebony another floodgate between you and your mother opened. I suppose most of this could be blamed upon me." Her tone said that it could in fact be blamed upon her, but that I'd have to be really fucking stupid to try to actually blame her.
"Well, I listened to her and I trusted her, so most of it was my fault." She gave me a smile and ran a smooth hand across my cheek with a warm nod.
"She's your mother. You had no reason not to trust her. She's vindicive and she does whatever she wants to get whatever she wants." She frowned, pulling back her hand and looking at me. "Do you know if you can hide your eye's color?"
"I don't know," I admitted, looking down and wishing with all my heart that I could hide them, that I could forget about the look of shock and almost fear on Spawn's fine features as he had recoiled from my new, horrible eyes. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, opening them again. "Are they gone?"
She frowned, shaking her head, and then she closed my eyes gently with her fingertips, murmuring something I couldn't understand. I opened my eyes again and her frown faded.
"There. All better." She sounded like a mother talking to a young child, and I returned to the mirror I'd seen my eyes in only moments ago, black rimmed with a deep, bloody red, and realized that they had indeed faded back to the grey-blue they'd been before. "But I'm warning you, get angry and the color's going to come right back."
"Why angry?"
"It's not my element. I'm not good at contoling it. Get too riled and nothing I could possibly do will hide your identity from those who would do you harm." She floated in from the kitchen and stoood behind me, adjusting her hair in the mirror.
"So, do I still have my powers?"
"Most of them, yes. I can hide the really powerful ones, but like I said, only until you really snap." She hugged one of my shoulders affectionately. "Oh, Cuz, you'll be okay. I mean, so you're in one of those relationships that's never going to work, like, ever, and your sister's going to try and murder you. At least you're still pretty."
"Thanks," I told her uncertainly, and she nodded, dissapearing once more into the cool, sweet Mediteranian breeze that swept over my skin and into the Alaskan night.
I shivered, running my hands over my arms to try and generate warmth, and then I leaned into the mirror again, examining my eyes. They appeared the same, but I was still frightened over the whole expearience of having the eyes of a demon.
I shuddered at the thought of my new eyes, feeling fear creep into my heart. I would be the first to admit that I wasn't amazing at keeping my temper in cheek, and this would certainly be a lesson in doing so.
I crossed the room to see if the coffee was ready yet, and I found it still brewing. With a deep sigh I wandered into the living room, flipping on the TV and laying down on one of the couches. I still felt exhausted, like my eyelids were lead, and I laid my head back, closing my eyes. Sleeping for five minutes wouldn't hurt me, I thought.
My eyes snapped open after what appeared to be five minutes, but couldn't have been because now the moon and stars were gone from the sky and the sun was casting short shadows across the white snow. I yarned, stretching and looking up at the clock. Damn. It was nine o'clock already?
Yes, I realized as I turned on the morning news. Nine o'clock, and while most people were worrying about getting their kids to school or getting to work on time, I was worrying about having goddess powers restored to me and the fate of the world. Lucky me.
I stood wearily, ignoring the boring stories of the news for the computer. I typed in my e-mail's password and poured myself more coffee while I waited for the page to load. I found one new e-mail, from the same address as before. Sighing in disgust, I opened it and took a sip of my coffee.
Then I promptly spit it out again.
Because there were more photos.
In these, though, the subject wasn't me.
The subjects were my younger brothers and my two older brothers.
And their unmoving, blank-faced, bloodied corpses sprawled out across the floor of our condo in Florida.
I jumped out of my seat, screaming bloody murder and slamming shut the computer's screen to try and erase the images from my mind's eye. I still saw the corpse of my littlest brother, though, even with my eyes closed, saw the bloodied tear in his throat from what had obviously been a Daimon attack. I continued shrieking, running up the stairs to the door at the end of the hallway that I assumed was Spawn's bedroom door.
When he opened it and looked to me with confusion, I continued to scream and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the stairs toward the computer. I opened the computer and it flashed to my e-mail, the photos visible once more on the fifteen inch screen.
I turned away as he studied them. Then he looked at me, his face blank and a little confused. "Is that...?" He began, and I nodded, feeling my eyes filling with tears. I closed them again, not wanting to let him see me cry again.
I felt a hand gently pull me closer to him and then I colapsed against him, sobbing full-force and hiding my face in his chest, my whole body shaking.
"Why?" I whispered, keeping my eyes closed. "Why would they do something like that?"
"Because they're evil, Ivy," He said sadly. "That's what they do."
"I- I hate them!" I spluttered, crying and feeling so very helpless. "I want them all to die!"
"If I can help it, they will," He assured me softly, keeping a tight grip on my body. I held him close, crying out of anger, fear, and sadness. I would have to call Jen later to see if it was true. Gods, I hoped it wasn't, but somewhere deep inside I knew the truth. My family-the only remaining family, spare Kaitly- was dead.
And now I was alone in the world.
Shuddering and not wanting to think of this as a possibility, I freed myself from his arms and scrolled down the e-mail, past the gruesome photographs and to the message below them.
Hunter-
Why, are you reading dear Ivory's e-mails now? Goodness, I hope she trust you more than you can trust her.
She's dead now, though, so I suppose things like that don't matter anymore.
I hope you realize that this destruction all has happened because you would not hand her over when she was supposed to die. I also hope that the sounds of her little brother's dying screams haunt your nightmares along with the feeling of helplessness she must have felt when she died alone in the forest, screaming for someone to help her. Did you remember your poor wife thinking about Ivory's death? Your sweet, beautiful children?
However, you must know that since her death apparently didn't unleash Aria and lead to the destruction of Earth, the battle shall continue. I wonder how long your oh-so powerful Daimons will last against the beings that can't die.
Speaking of the Daimons...What will Acheron do when he realizes you've allied yourself with our worst enemies?
Being of enemy blood, you're on shaky ground as is, and this is merely fueling the fires.
Pleasant dreams, hunter. We're waiting for you.
Iccarius of Athens
P.s. Next time you try to find me, try not to look in places as generic as the damned Daimon bar. Really? You think me that plebiean?
I realized that Spawn was reading over my shoulder and at the mention of his wife and children he froze, his hand clutching the edge of the table. I didn't bother to look up as I grabbed my coffee cup again and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.
"Jen?" I asked when someone finally answered.
"Jeez, Ivory, long time no see. What's going on? Are you okay? Do you have the Appolite kid with you?"
"I'm fine, and-" I took a deep breath, not wanting to ask my next question. "Are my brothers all right? Did anything-"
"They're fine, Ivory. Todd just stopped by a few hours ago, actually, and he asked if I'd talked to you. Why?"
I felt shock surge through my system. "Oh, thank god. Um, I don't have any time to explain, but I just wanted to make sure they're okay. Are you sure they're fine?"
"Yes. What is this about?"
"I don't have any time to explain, but I'll call you as soon as I can with more details."
"Wait, I-"
She couldn't finish her sentance, though, because I ended the call and then looked up at Spawn with wide eyes.
"She says they're absolutely fine. My family isn't dead," I laughed quietly and with deep relief, wiping my eyes and then walking back to the computer. My e-mail light was flashing again, and I took a seat in front of the keyboard. Spawn pulled up a chair beside me to read over my shoulder once more. "I wonder why someone would lie about something as serious as that," I muttered under my breath as I opened the e-mail.
My breath caught in my throat as I realized again whose e-mail it had originated from, and Spawn must have noticed, because he laced his fingers through mine and held onto my hand tightly, reassuringly.
Ivory-
What a relief to title a letter to you once more. I knew that only your family's safety could draw you from hiding, and I knew that once you recieved my first e-mail it would only be a matter of time before you called.
Did you like my bargaining chip? Your loved ones- Gods, I feel like a villain from a 'comic book'.
However, the fact that you are still living is no laughing matter. I will have to fix that problem as soon as possible, and now that you have your powers back it might prove more difficult, though not impossible. Your nobility has always proved your downfall, my darling.
It would be wisest for everyone if you just gave up now and came quietly. It would cause the least bloodshed on either of our sides, and dying for a cause would be a first for you, right?
And remember- if we can fake something like the murders of your family, it will only be a matter of time before we actually commit the very acts we fabricate.
The choice is yours- your hunter, your family, or your life. Choose wisely.
By the way, I choose to end this the same way I ended the letter to your darling 'boy toy' the Hunter- We're waiting for you.
Don't forget what you were created to become. You're a weapon of mass destruction, bred to be the destruction of entire worlds. Live up to your potential, Ivory.
Alas, this is all the time I have to write to you today. I bid you adeu, for now.
Iccarius of Athens.
My heart wouldn't start again, no matter how hard I tried. No. It couldn't have been, but then again it seemed so obvious. I'd been set up. Which meant that my family still lived, but I was going to have to get them out of the Miami area if I wanted to keep them that way.
It also meant that Jen...
Gods, I didn't want to think about that. I was hurt so deeply by what she must have done. My best friend, my most trusted friend, working with the enemies.
It sickened me.
I felt Spawn's arms around me and I turned away from the computer again. "This is just a game to them," I murmured softly. "Sooner or later I'm going to slip up and they're going to kill me and everyone I love..."
"I won't let that happen!" Spawn half-shouted, his expression one of pure rage and fearsome promise. I looked up at him, tired of running from my fate and hiding behind everyone else as I shook my head.
"You can't help it- some day they're going to find me. It might be months from now or it might be tomorrow. But until I die, they're going to hurt the people I love, and I can't let them hurt anyone else the way they hurt Nikitas and the way Aria hurt my mother. Please. If I can help in some way, even if it means sacrificing myself, I'll have to do it." I looked up at him, my eyes pleading. "Don't try to stop me. Please."
"Why shouldn't I try to keep you alive?" He demanded. "You can't die. I can't let you die."
"But if it's for the sake of humanity..."
"I'm still not going to let you die." He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips. With his lips still upon my hand he shook his head.
"But you have to think about everyone else in this, too!" I cried. "It's not just me! If I live, who knows how many people Iccarius and Ebony will kill!"
"I am going to kill them before they touch you again, or before they harm anyone you care for again," He told me again, his rage over the subject so very obvious. "They are never going to hurt you again."
"It's not that simple," I told him through tears. "It's me. It's always going to be me. Even if Ebony fails, Aria will not give up that easily. She's always going to hunt me."
"So I'll kill her too!" He promised. I smiled softly, touching his cheek and blinking away my tears.
"You can't kill an ancient goddess. I don't want to see you get hurt trying, either."
"It's impossible for me not to try," He argued, placing his hand on mine. "I couldn't live with myself knowing that they'd hurt you again."
I sighed, looking away and choking on another sob. "They're always going to hurt me. There's nothing you can really do about it, Spawn."
He looked to me with a saddenned expression, which faded into a small smile. "You know, I think you're the bravest woman I've ever met."
I had no words to say to this, I merely let him hold me close, closing my eyes and feeling the helplessness I'd felt grow with each passing moment.
"Spawn?"
"Hmm?" He looked up from the computer screen to watch me. I was laying across the couch in the living room, reading one of the books from my bag, and I sat up to talk to him. If my eyes had been human, like they'd been a few hours ago, I wouldn't be able to see him in the black-out curtained kitchen, but as it was I could see him with my almost-as-good-as-a-Dark-Hunter-but-not-quite eyes.
"What did Iccarius mean when he said that you were trying to find him?"
"I don't know what you mean." I could tell that something was wrong, though, it was as if I could feel him lying to me.
"Don't lie."
He sighed, walking over to stand in the doorway of the living room. "What do you want me to say, Ivy? That I didn't seek him out to get revenge forwhat he'd done to you?"
"I don't want to believe you would do something that stupid."
"It's not as stupid as you're making it sound," He argued. I crossed my arms.
"Really?" I countered. "Going after my ex-husband in a blind vendetta, an ex who, may I remind you, has killed three Dark-Hunters already?"
"Who has he killed?" He demanded.
"Branwen, Akori, and Eli." I closed my eyes and turned away. I was trying my hardest not to think about Eli. Not now, not after I'd done so well getting over him.
He paused and chose his words carefully when he spoke again. "Do you throw yourself at every Dark-Hunter you serve?"
I turned back slowly, my face a mask of anger. "What?" I snapped indiginantly. "That's ridiculous. Why would you say that? What does that even have to do with our conversation?"
"You said you were 'getting over' Eli. Were you two an 'item'?"
"No!" I cried, flushing. "Of course not!"
"But you wanted him just the same."
"I'm not talking about this with you!" I cried.
"Why not? You ask me more questions than I care to answer, why should I not repay you in kind?"
"Because it's not fair!" I cried. "I never ask you questions like that!"
He sighed. "I just want to know," He admitted softly. "Were you in love with Eli?" He looked a little anxious, but managed to hide it well. "Are you still?"
I sighed, sitting back on the couch. "When I was younger, I thought I was. He was so sweet and understanding...But now, looking back on it, he was just a kind man who helped me during a time of my life in which my loss could've driven me insane. A good friend, but..." I paused and looked away. "But looking back on how it was, I don't think I could have loved him enough to restore his soul. And I wouldn't damn someone to shadedom for just having a crush on them."
"I'm sorry," He said quietly. I looked up at him with a small smile.
"I'm alright. Listen to me- going on about my love life at a time like this. I need to find Iccarius and kill him."
"You make it sound so simple."
"Well," I reasoned, "Now that my powers are restored, I could probably kick his ass three ways to Sunday, so I might as well track him down." I stood and looked down to my jeans and tee shirt. This would do.
I walked to the landing at the bottom of the stairs and pulled on my grey and black winter coat, pulling my shoes onto my feet and slipping the gun Stryker had given me into my pocket.
"I really don't like you going out there to face him alone," Spawn called. "You can't wait until the sun goes down and I can go with you?"
"No," I told him, opening the door. "See you later."
"Wait!" I looked up to see him in the hallway, skirting around the daylight pouring in through the open door that I shut quickly after seeing his discomfort. "Take this with you."
He offered me a tiny charm on a silver bracelet, and I looked up at him in confusion. I looked down to the charm to see that it was a tiny eye, a quite few shades brighter than the color of the eye I saw every time I looked in the mirror. He looked almost embarassed, but hid most of his emotion well.
"It's a Greek charm known as the Evil Eye," He explained, and I almost dropped it trying to give it back. "No, no, it's a misnomer. It supposedly prevents curses and hexes from harming the wearer, and since it's the best shot I've got at keeping you safe without being there to help, I'm wiling to use it." He turned it over and placed it in my palm. "Oh, also, it's got a state-of-the-art homing beacon on the back, so all you've got to do is break the silver band it's attatched to and it will send your coordinates to my cell phone, and I'll know you're in trouble. This is only to be done in situations of dire need, understand?" He gave me a stern look and I smiled, nodding quickly. Spawn smiled, leaning down to touch his lips to mine for a brief, over-far-too-soon kiss that was still enough to make my head spin. "Be careful, Buffy."
"I will be," I promised, turning towards the door as I grabbed a spare set of keys off the wall. "Don't stay up all day worrying about me," I half teased. He smiled almost sadly.
"I make no promises," He called as I shut the door. I sighed, clicking the lock on the key to see which car this went to, and I heard the beeping of one of the SUVs from a little farther down the driveway. I walked to it, hearing the snow under my boots, and I honestly was a little scared about how I was feeling right now. I'd never heard of a Squire actually falling for their Dark-Hunter charge, and this wasn't even my hunter. I was so beyond screwed if Acheron found out.
But what if he didn't? Rumor had it that one of the Hunters in Seattle was actually married to an Appolite.
If they could make it work, and if Ash was turning a blind eye to them, why not us?
Because you're not normal. Spawn isn't trusted, and neither are you anymore. If Iccarius hadn't killed those hunters...
Iccarius. Damn him.
Why was he still involved with this? What had he to gain from this except for the physical affection of a goddess who could never truly love?
If you can love, so can she; you're cut from the same cloth.
I wished that this had been my mother speaking to me, but she'd been oddly silent since my powers had returned, so it had to be the small part of me that was apparently still sane. If I could learn to love, even after all my soul had been through, why couldn't Ebony? Maybe she and Iccarius were meant for each other. They certainly deserved each other.
Then again, I was not sure about my emotions right now. Love was far too strong and too perminant to grow in only a few days. Sure, I'd been through a lot, but this might just be my infatuation with the Hunter. Like I had told him only moments earlier, I wouldn't doom someone to Shadedom for merely having a crush on them.
But what he'd told me echoed in my mind, louder than anything else. I remembered the night of my almost-murder vaguely, as though it were someone else's memories. However, his words were crystal clear to me.
"I wasn't talking about physical pain."
So perhaps I couldn't love. Perhaps it wasn't in my genetic make-up. But still... If he believed that I could be harmed emotionally, maybe there was hope for me afterall. Maybe I could have more than a crush. Not likely, but maybe.
The little sane voice in the back of my mind whispered to me when I was alone in the car and when the large cabin behind me had faded into the snowy white background, and I did my best to ignore it when it spoke the truth.
If you could love, you know damn well WHO you would love...
Yes, I did. And it was a secret that I hoped a certain mind reader would never stumble upon, that I hoped I would take to my grave.
Which I might be seeing really soon if I didn't find Iccarius.
My first stop was the hospital. I was still pretty twitchy around this place, and it seemed so much worse because I was alone, but I was here for a purpose and question I had to have answered. The place that I found myself in, however, was cleaner and in better condition than the E.R.- It smelled like clean leather furnishings and had glossy light wood floors, expensive-looking pictures and sculptures in a clean waiting room with a computer area and large windows looking out onto the expansive parking lot. It looked a lot more like a hotel, as opposed to a hospital wing.
I continued to glance around suspiciously, waiting for a Daimon or a zombie to jump out at me, and when I found that there was nothing to fear I was beginning to losen the fists that my hands were clenched tightly in.
And that was when I saw Doctor Arimond.
I jumped back with a gasp when I saw him, stopping an instant before I ran to the door, taking that one second to realize that it wasn't really him- it was a missing person flier with a large photograph of him upon it.
HAVE YOU SEEN ME?
This was written below his picture, which was him in a dress shirt the color of blood and a pair of black slacks, his arm around a woman who looked a little younger than him, who must have been his wife, who was clad in a dress of the same color with a black ribbon around her waist.
I felt a surge of guilt before realizing that she must be a Daimon, too. His destription was written up below that, along with a toll-free number to call with any information. His wife would have learned of his death from Iccarius or another member of their army, so I assumed this would have been put up by hospital staff.
I shuddered, walking past it quickly and trying to ignore the stares of the concerned hospital staff at my actions. I tried to move forward, tried to pretend that I was alright. If I looked suspicious, I would draw even more attention to myself, and I certainly didn't want that.
I approached a nurses' station, controlling my breathing and fear enough to ask, "What room is Sharon Parker in?"
"What is your relationship to Miss Parker?" Asked the nurse in a bored tone.
"I'm her sister."
"Room 409 B," She said in the same uninterested tone. I nodded my thanks and then turned on my heel, walking towards the elevators.
Once I reached the second floor, passing a few more posters of Doctor Arimond on my way, I found room 409. It was in the ICU, which smelled of harsh cleaning products, hospital food, and death. My new senses were overwhelmed by the smells and I wrinkled my nose, walking quickly past patients in wheelchairs being pushed by nurses and doctors giving orders to interns about dosages and proper care methods.
Room 409 was at the end of the hallway, across from another nurses' station, this one empty spare a computer that was going through a slide show of pictures as a screen saver. I looked to the door of the ICU room. The door was mostly closed, opened only about half an inch, and I could see sunlight streaming in through windows looking out at the Alaskan morning.
The curtains were wide open, showing the blinding sunlight outside, and I squinted to see in the bright light that was giving me a pretty bad headache. I pulled them shut and then looked over to the comatose woman. She was getting better, thank God, but I kept thinking back to the night that she'd been hurt. If I'd been with her, if I hadn't been cowering by that body like an infant...
They'd have taken me along with the other two girls. I knew it was true, I was a human, and as much as I tried, it's not as though I could take on a group of Daimons on my own, not in a club full of them who would probably kill me as soon as I drew my weapon.
Shuddering, I looked back to the woman, wishing I'd brought like flowers or something. I felt a little awkward standing here with no purpose, and now I felt bad about bringing nothing to apologize for almost killing her.
I remembered how Aphrodite had tried to help me disguise my eyes, by having me think about what I wanted to happen. Maybe that would work again.
Flowers. Bright, happy, Sorry-I-Almost-Killed-You flowers, please. Maybe yellow.
I closed my eyes and felt something fall into my hands, and I stumbed under the weight of a small fortune in flowers, most of which were still attatched to their rots, which were dusting the ground with dirt and rocks.
"Crap!" I hissed, trying again to control my powers.
A vase for them would be greatly appreciated.
I waited. Nothing happened.
A PLANTER FOR THE FLOWERS. NOW.
I closed my eyes again and smiled when something else fell into my hands. I opened them again, filled the clear crystal vase with water from the small sink, and stuffed the yellow flowers into their place. Setting it on the table next to her bed, I sighed.
"Who was Alice, Sharon?" I whispered, wishing she could hear me, wishing that she had an answer. "What did she know?"
As I suspected, there was no answer from the unconsious woman on life support. I sighed, turning around to leave.
And that's when I saw Georgia West.
I backed slowly away, towards the windows, but a fat lot of good they would do me. Apparently zombie-things could walk in daylight. I clutched at the pendant Spawn had given me before I left the house. That wouldn't work, either-broad daylight and Hunters didn't mix.
"Leave, now," I told her, while willing my voice to not shake. "I have my goddess powers and I will kill you if I have to."
She approached me quietly, contemplating me. I heard the door lock click shut behind her, and I studied what had once been a pretty young woman. Her white-blond hair was not matted with blood as it had been before, and she wore clean clothes, but she was whiter than a sheet and her eyes were sunken into their sockets, her teeth gnarled and yellowed like someone who'd been dead for decades, not months. She appeared fragile and hurt, but I knew the damage she could do. I felt my powers surging inside of me.
Then she spoke, and her words floored me.
"Good. I want you to." Her voice still had a grating, harsh quality, but it sounded nicer, especially seeing as how she wasn't shrieking curses at the top of her undead lungs.
"What?" I replied in muted disbelief. "What are you talking about?"
"I wish to die."
"Can't you just, like, kill yourself?"
"No. It is impossible. I must die by the hand of a breathing being."
I was quiet as I contemplated this. "But, why?" I asked in severe confusion. "I thought you were happy with your life. You're all immortal, and if you destroy me, you can take over the world."
"The world is nothing, if I don't have the one thing that I've always cherished," She told me sagely, closing her eyes and crying tears of deep red liquid. I hoped it wasn't blood, but I knew that it was, of course. Who was I kidding.
I fell silent, and after a minute or so I responded softly, "Alexander."
"I blamed you for his loss, but I know it was better for him now," She said quietly. "He knew love in his last days."
"Why did you take him, then?" I whispered. "He could have stayed with me. Spawn wouldn't have minded. He had children as a human, and he would have been kind to him, and I'm pretty sure Zarek would have tolerated him as best he can."
"Spawn..." She sighed. "He knew Alexander when Alex was a baby. I know he would have been a good father to him. I just wish I would have left him to you both." I felt my stomach tighten at the emotion in her voice.
"Well, I mean- He wouldn't have been a father...Just...Uh..." I flushed. "That's not what I meant. Never mind what I just said."
"I know what you meant. But I was given an order to retireve him, and when I am given an order, I cannot ignore it. I was thrilled at the idea of my baby living among us, in our camp. But Iccarius..." She sighed. "He only wanted my son as a sacrifice to the goddess Ariatine. He made me kill him and then called him an example of someone who helps the enemy." She looked up at me with red eyes rimmed with tears. "This life is nothing without my child."
I felt my own tears welling. "I miss him, too. He was...He was a sweet kid. I didn't know him for long, but I loved him just the same."
"Which is why you must understand that I cannot live without my son. Why you must kill me."
"I don't know if I could..."
"If not, I will go to the camp where your Daimons reside and let them kill me."
"They'll take your soul. It will be horrible and agonizing, and you'll be begging them to kill you, but believe me, it'll be a long time before you die."
"You just described life without Alexander," She said, wiping away her tears and catching my eye.
I fell silent again. "You could fight for us," I offered. "Death might not be the answer."
She shook her head. "As long as I live, the one who awakened me has control over all that I do. I escaped his control for this afternoon by drugging him, but he will awaken soon. Please, kill me before he realizes I am gone." She looked up at me, pleading. "I want to be with my child again."
Her eyes went wide as I said in indicision,"Well..."
"He awakens. Make your decision soon, I beg you." I nodded and before she could speak again, I rushed forward and buried my knife down to the hilt in her chest, where the inkblot on a Daimon would have been. Blood spurted forth from the wound and she gasped out, "Silver. It must be silver to kill me."
In a second of pure panic I manifested a silver dagger and plunged it into her throat, stabbing repeatedly and listening to the sounds of agony that she made as the silver made connection with and burned her skin. And then she caught my eye, blood screaming from her tear ducts, nose, and mouth. Still she managed to smile to me.
"Thank you," She whispered reverently. I still said nothing, frozen with horror.
It took all my strength not to stop stabbing until her eyes glazed over and she stopped moving, and then I curled up in one of the chairs, my knees to my chest, as I watched her body quickly decompose and then fade into a light gold powder. I closed my eyes and the powder dissapeared.
I stood, willing myself into clean, blood free clothes.
And then suddenly, something hit me hard in the pit of my stomach. It was a dark presence, looming over me as evily as Iccarius had. I gasped as pain assailed me.
You have absorbed my powers. I shall keep you safe from the one who awakened me.
How did I absorb your powers?
When you took what remained of my soul into your body.
Panicking, I tore open my jacket to survey my chest for the teltale sign of Daimon-ism, and I was confused to find that I did not bear any inkblot. I looked back up and zipped up my jacket.
But I'm not a Daimon.
No, you're not, but you are a goddess, and Ebony told us that she can obsorb the soul of anyone who crosses her path. Since you are her twin, I assumed that you could do the same. For all the wrong that I commited while I still resided upon this earth, for all the pain I wreaked upon the humans, I shall redeem myself by being a sheild to you. If she tries to absorb your powers and your soul if she kills you, she will have to go through mine.
But she's a goddess.
My soul is stronger than one might think. As long as I protect your soul, she shall not harm it.
But won't your soul die, like any Daimon kills' would?
Eventually, but I am hoping that I might be able to hold on until after the battle begins.
And when will that be?
At the most...One week from today. They're growing impatient. Spawn destroyed a few of their new recruits last night, and he's on a blood hunt for Iccarius for what he did to you.
Does Spawn know how to destroy them with silver, like you showed me?
No, but fresh Daimon kills about to go 'Zombie', as you call it, can be killed as easily as any Daimon can.
I froze. Georgia...Where are they getting their recruits?
You set free a group of Daimons in this area. Many of the Spathi are surprisingly messy about their kills-they leave bodies all over the place. Iccarius alone truly knows how to revert a newly dead human, but whoever the Daimons kill...
They become zombies.
Yes.
Fuck.
As soon as I had left the hospital, I drove the thirty or forty miles out of Fairbanks towards the camp filled with Daimons. I was nervous here. I felt blashpemous just being here, and I knew the trouble I'd be in if anyone knew I was here. But I had to tell Stryker what I knew. If I didn't, it might lead to the demise of us all.
I made my way to the tent that I'd met Urian, Solomon, and Strykerius in a few days ago. The desk had dissapeared, and in its place stood an oppulant bed, with wrought iron posters that were drawn with thick black curtains. I stepped forward to draw them back, and a strong hand grabbed my wrist. I gasped and tried to pull away, until the curtains parted to reveal Strykerius, wide awake and angry.
"Why are you sneaking up on me while I sleep?" He snapped. "I didn't think you were that stupid."
"I'm not," I said solemnly, wrenching free my wrist. "I have information."
I spoke quickly and softly, hoping that no one else would hear about the murder I'd commited and the soul I'd supposedly taken. When I finished speaking, Stryker was laying back in bed, watching me with a bored expression.
"You're lying, human." Stryker stretched out across his bed, looking up at me, the thin black sheet the only barrier between the cold air and what I guessed was his nakedness. He was tanned, which sort of suprised me, and really ripped, something that really didn't surprise me. You didn't get to be a Daimon king by sitting around watcing TV.
However, I was pretty good about ignoring his hotness. Again, I've worked for some pretty freakin' cute guys. He didn't faze me, especially since he was everything I'd always sworn to hate and destroy.
"No, Daimon, I'm not. I have the soul of one of his warriros inside of me now. She told me that Iccarius is going around every night afteryou guys and turning the bodies of each of your kills into vessels for his warriors. If you don't stop feeding on these people..."
"My people will die," He snapped, sitting up and glaring at me. "And because of that, you will die."
"I..." He was right, and I had nothing to say. "I mean, God! Can't you take them somewhere else to feed? I don't want Iccarius' numbers to grow any more than they have, and I certainly don't want to lose what might be my last hope at salvation."
Stryker's silver eyes flashed dangerously. "I'll think of something. In the mean time- Could your 'soul' friend tell you where they're stationing these supposed 'troops'?"
"I don't know. Can you, Georgia?"
I suppose I could, if he could stop being petulant, and if he would stop refering to me as though I do not exist.
He frowned at me, and then glared as though he could hear what she'd said about him. I could almost see the pretty young blond woman smirking at him, hands on her hips.
Stryker stood, wrapping the sheet around his lean hips. I looked away, sort of embarassed, and I told him, "Yes, she can. But can any of your men walk in daylight?"
"No," He smiled, looking at me pointedly, a smirk twisting his lips. "But one of my women can."