Broken Heart 06 Come Hell or High Water (27 page)

"Idid not see that coming," I said. "It's why I had to live. Because..." I trailed off, overwhelmed.

"Because if Lilith had managed to wipe out Family Durga, none would be left to join with the talisman. And the other half must be a female," said Connor.

"Durga was joined to it?" I asked faintly.

"Her daughter," said Larsa. Even she was looking at me with a kind of pity. "She offered to be the vessel for the magic. But the kind of power needed to force Lilith into hell destroyed her. It left the talisman, though, and Durga kept it with her. Until she was banned."

"That's why the gods wanted a demon to mate with the talisman," said Astria. "You'll need Connor 's power and strength."

And I had turned him away.

I felt sick to my stomach. How could I draw from Connor what I needed when he'd taken it away? No, when I'd refused it? If I said I changed my mind now, he would never know if I'd done it out of self-preservation or out of love. Hell, I didn't even know.

Connor took out the circle of gold. Around its edge were eight symbols I didn't recognize.

"The ancient symbols for the Families," said Larsa, her tone respectful.

It turned out that Larsa was unable to give Patsy the power of the Family Shamhat. Apparently Patsy had tried to absorb it, but the transfer didn't happen. She needed to get it directly from the Ancient. I knew now why Larsa believed we had one thing in common: We were both the last. She was the last of all the Family Shamhat. And I was the last female of Family Durga.

It appeared the hunters were the only ones, along with me, to have escaped the deaths of the Family Durga. Only four of us now who could claim the Family line. And only Patsy stood between almost all of us and destruction.

I didn't know how Patsy or Larsa knew what to do. Probably Larsa had given the queen the 411, because she'd been there when the first talisman had been made.

Patsy put her fingers on one side of the talisman, and Larsa did the same on the other. They whispered words, ancient words that I didn't understand.

One color after another lit each symbol. It was like a really freaky Simon electronic game.

When they were through, the talisman glowed in a rainbow of colors.

"It won't work," said Astria. "Not until you unlock its magic, Phoebe. You must add your blood to it."

Ren silently offered his knife, but I had already pulled a thin blade from my boot.

My stomach squeezed, and I looked at Connor. He offered me a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. I ached to see tenderness, even a sparkle of humor. But there was only distance. I'd hurt him, and I wasn't sure I could undo the mess I'd created. How did you unbreak a heart?

I cut my palm and placed it on top of the medallion.

I felt as though hot fingers reached inside my chest and pulled out something hard and small, something beating softly like the wings of a bird. Then the sensation was gone.

And so was I.

The magic zapped me instantly to... well, I had no idea where. I squatted on the rocky ground and slowly stood up. I feared exploring this odd place.

Where was I?

As a vampire, my lack of blood circulation meant that most temperatures, hot or cold, rarely bothered me. But in this place I was cold. It wasn't so much that my outsides were frigid; more like an insidious chill crept through my insides, freezing me slowly. I wondered whether that was what my friends had felt as Lilith turned them into icicles. I really wished that someone could figure out how to make that woman implode.

I was outdoors. I thought. Thick fog boiled above the ground, hiding my feet. It was dark, but not pitch-black. I could make out stubby, dead trees and boulders.

"You honor us, daughter of Durga."

The woman walked toward me, dressed in a diaphanous white gown - a total Greek vibe. Most of the immortal females I knew really liked this look. Or they got a discount at Goddesses R Us.

The darkness parted for her reluctantly. It seemed as though the shadows had fingers clawing toward her, but maybe that was my imagination. This place seriously gave me the creeps. The woman stopped about a foot away, looking at me with solemn eyes.

"Who are you?"

"The gods," said a multitude of voices. "We heard your prayers."

"I didn't pray."

She smiled. "Your... exclamations."

"It's nice to know you're listening," I said, caught between anger and fear. "Even if you're not doing anything."

"You mean, even if we are not doing as you think we should." Her tone held both censure and humor. The voices had melded into one, for which I was glad.

"The time for secrets is nearing its end." Her gaze skimmed me. "Do you love Connor?"

"I..."

"Confusion is a lie," she said. "We come to a decision, and our hearts say, 'This way.' But it is dark down that path, and fraught with danger. We do not want to go. We look at the other path, the easier one. And we think of all the reasons not to follow our heart. Our thoughts tangle with our intuition and we say, 'We are so confused.' "

"I didn't have a choice."

"You did," countered the goddess. Or the gods. Or whatever. "For example, you used your wish to save your friends.... You could've used it to break your binding."

"The needs of the many," I insisted. "I'm not that selfish."

She cocked an eyebrow. I felt guilty because I
had
been selfish, thinking only about how the prophecy had affected me. Connor hadn't struggled nearly so hard. He'd just... fallen in love with me.

"Do you love him?" she asked. "It is a simple question."

And it was. I culled through my emotions, my memories. I saw in so many instances where I had made my own choices. I slept with Connor. I gave up the wish. I followed through with the talisman.

"Is it fate?" I asked, my throat thick, my voice unsteady.

"Does it matter? If you love Connor... does it matter?"

"No," I said, and I felt released, the burden of my emotions sloughing off. "I love him." I sounded strong and sure, and my heart beat, at least in my mind, for Connor.

"The talisman." Her gaze flickered to mine. "Are you strong enough, daughter of Durga, to be its new protector?"

"Yes."

"For so long as there is a talisman, there will be those who seek it."

I wasn't sure exactly where this was heading, but I thought about Connor, and knew I'd do whatever it took.

"What do I do?"

"Give me your knife. And give me the talisman."

I'd be crazy to hand over the most important object ever made, and a friggin' blade, but I did it. I regretted it immediately, because the bitch stabbed me.

"Ow!"

The woman ignored my reaction, working the blade in and cutting deeply into my chest. It hurt. A lot. But I shut my trap and let her work.

She slipped the talisman into the slit and pressed the wounded flesh over it. I felt a tickling warmth and the talisman burrowed deeper still, and the muscle she'd savaged healed instantly.

"You are the talisman," she said softly.

"I have its powers?"

"Yes. You and only you can wield them."

"I can send Lilith back to hell?"

"More than that. You can create bonds" - she looked at me significantly - "or break them."

"Vampire matings?" I asked.

"Yes. The other talisman, the daughter of Durga, was not strong enough to wield its power. She bound Lilith to hell, but died. She didn't have time to learn the magic or the limits of it, but you do. And you are strong enough."

"Because I have Connor."

"And he has you." She placed her hand on my forehead and muttered some words, and then my atoms exploded and I was racing across the darkness... back to the destiny I wanted.

Connor.

I arrived in the room in the Consortium underground facility, where an argument was raging.

My appearance stunned the participants.

"Where have you been?" roared Connor. He'd been leaning against the wall, and he pushed away from it, striding forward and snagging me. "You scared the life outta me."

He seemed to realize he'd shown more emotion than necessary, and he took a step back as he dropped my arm. But I wouldn't let him retreat. I put my arm around his waist and leaned into his shoulder. He stiffened, but didn't pull away. Then he put his arm over my shoulder, a small concession. I still felt the distance between us, but since I'd been responsible for creating it, I supposed I should be the one to cross it.

"She did what she was supposed to do," said Astria. "Don't be mad, Connor."

"He wasn't angry," I told her. "He was scared." I hugged him and felt him soften more. "So was I."

I looked at the others in the room: Larsa, Patsy, Astria, Anise, and Ren. Damian and Nicor had joined us.

"Danny and Jackson, are they still all right?" I asked Damian.

"Asleep in Jackson's apartment," he confirmed. "And well protected, I promise you,
Leibling
."

"The talisman," said Nicor, "where is it?"

"You're looking at it," I said.

He seemed shocked, then appalled. I got the feeling he wanted to reach inside me and pull it out.
Good luck with that
, I thought.

"I don't want to wait for Lilith to make an appearance," I said. "We need to draw her out."

"How?" asked Damian.

"We'll use one of her tricks."

We sat down and hashed out a plan. And the whole time, I never let Connor go.

When we arrived on Main Street, downtown was dark and quiet, too reminiscent of the nightmare. I was not alone. Connor stood with me.

Broken Heart would not be destroyed. Lilith would not win.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. I gripped his hand, and he allowed it. He wasn't ready to trust my affection, but I knew he would not leave me alone. I could rely on him; his strength and even his love were mine to call upon.

"Yes," I said. "Call her."

He looked at me one moment more, and then nodded.

"Jennifer," he said. "Come."

In her blond-bombshell form, she wavered into view, a couple of feet to my left.

"Wow," she said. She turned and sauntered toward us. "This is rad!"

"Remember what we talked about, Jennifer?" asked Connor.

She nodded. "No killing innocents. No implosions. No tricks."

The red lights sparkled, and when they dissipated, she was male-CEO Jen, with a nice suit and gray hair. His gaze softened as he looked at me. "I see magic in you, Phoebe. It's pretty."

"Thanks, Jennifer. We need you to get Lilith now."

He frowned. "Are you... sure? She's not very nice, and she doesn't like me."

"But you're her daughter," I pointed out. "And you can bring her here."

My heart broke for Jennifer, who'd been abused by Lilith's abandonment, languishing in that non-space in hell until she was found by her brother. Connor taught her about love, about sacrifice. And she'd somehow retained her innocence. She was not designed to be good, but she'd chosen it. And was not the act of choosing right instead of wrong the sign of inherent goodness?

Red lights pulsed again, and a little girl stood there looking prim in her lacy dress and patent-leather shoes. "I have to go. So long as I stay at my house, I behave."