Daughter Trilogy Bundle (15 page)

They start walking toward me with their eerie grins, and I feel something inside of me burning, stirring, and taking me over.  The wind around me stirs violently, and the clouds crackle with thunder as the rain starts to pour.

I feel my eyes burning with a light I can feel more than I can see.

"She's a fucking-"

"No.  It's impossible," another interrupts.

Before anything can get started, Devin drops down from the rooftop above me, Kry quickly joining with a thud as his feet clap the ground.

"No," I cry out when I see the man I desperately tried to escape.  Now I just want him out... safe.

These demons want him, but he doesn't know it.

"Adisia!" Devin panics as he flashes to my side too fast for my eyes to follow.

His eyes move up and down my destroyed body.  So many of my bones are broken, and I can see my leg almost disjoined from its place as it juts out in an unnatural position.

"You just fucked up," Devin growls to the group of savages, and then he looks up when he's startled by the brewing storm above growing stronger.

The rain pounds down and I can feel my bones snapping back into place on their own.  I feel the strength inside me burning with more intensity as I climb to my feet.  My eyes burn with fury as the demonic crew glare at me, ready to tear me apart.

"Get her out of here," Devin yells to Kry, but a streak of lightning crashes in front of us, and one of the men is blown back from the unexpected jolt.

Devin looks at me, and his eyes widen in pure shock as his mouth claps open and shut in the same astonishment.

Kry screams out as my first attacker, Shane, charges toward us, and Devin turns to throw his arms out.  It all plays out in slow motion as the air ripples, and the man goes sailing backwards.

The girl throws her whip free that sparks into a blaze.  She slices it toward us, but it misses and gashes the pavement below, leaving a trail of fire despite the torrential downpour.

Devin spins through the air and kicks her in the chest.  I hear the breath grunt out of her lungs, and she flies into the building behind her.  Chunks of the bricks crumble to the ground behind her collapse.

Kry whips out three circular blades and flings them at our attackers.  All three slice through the chest of one of the men, and he drops lifelessly to the ground.

"Go.  We have to go!" One of them screams before they start turning to retreat.

The one who tried to crush me glares at me one last time before turning to run while holding his wounded side.

Devin slowly turns to meet my thundering eyes, and he motions for Kry to take a step back.

"Adisia, I need you to calm down right now.  You'll rip these buildings apart if you don't.  Listen to my voice.  Calm down, baby, calm down."

His soothing voice is laced with fear.  He's afraid of me?  What am I doing?

I feel so much energy coursing through me, and I can't control it.  I feel my body growing tired and weak from the force exuding from me.

The thunder lessens, and the torrential downpour slows into a sudden drizzle.  Devin is approaching me like I'm a cornered, rabid animal.  I do feel like a savage beast ready to pounce, but there's nothing to pounce on anymore.  I don't know what beast has awoken within me, but it feels good.

"Calm down," he coos, and the winds calm a little more.

His hands cup my cheeks, and a whole new burning takes over.  I feel the rush of a thousand fires colliding with a tidal wave while an electrical storm strikes the middle of it all.

He jerks back, and stares at his hands as if he just felt it too.

"Fuck!" he gasps.

"What?" Kry panics.

"I don't know.  I have no idea what just happened.  I've never felt anything like it," Devin says in shock, and I smirk a little as I feel the world around me climbing into my palm.

"Fuck.  We need to calm her down before it all picks back up," Kry growls.

Car horns start sounding off, men and women begin falling into each other's arms as though they're entering a torrid affair, birds flock in a blur creating black clouds in the dark sky, and the breath of the earth blows against my face to carry me its blessings.

Cars begin flying into the air on the wings of my hellacious winds.  My winds.  My deliciously powerful winds.

It's intoxicating, spellbinding, and it feels so seductively incredible.

Devin takes a deep breath and scoops me up.

"I've got you, baby.  Just try to fight it, please.  You'll destroy this place if you don't."

His lips fold over mine, and I blink over and over until my mind finally returns.  I push him back from me, and then I look around frantically at the chaos I think I evoked.

But how?  How could I have done that?

Cars drop into place, alarms sounding out in unison as they crash to the ground.

Devin looks down at me, fear and worry etching his swirling beauties, as he carries me away.

"Damn.  We have to figure this shit out quick," he mumbles as he looks back to Kry.

"Yeah, you think?" he asks with rhetorical sarcasm.  "She barely stopped before crumbling five buildings without even meaning to.  I'm pretty freaking sure she's not infected."

"What's he talking about?" I ask with a dry mouth while my lazy eyes try to shut.

"Shut up before you get her worked up," Devin snaps at Kry.

"Mr. Cole, is every thing okay?" the soaked doorman asks when we reach the front of the apartment building once more.

"It's fine," Devin says dismissively as he walks through the door while still carrying my trembling body.

The elevator opens shortly after we reach it and, he kisses my forehead.  His lips bring me back to a wonderful warmth.  I can taste the desire playing freely inside my mouth, and the delicious taste of power harnessing it with ease.

My body heats with the passionate blaze that is magnified to the nth degree now.  The elevator rattles as my body gets even hotter.

"Fuck.  Put her down.  You're the one working her up.  You're her fucking trigger." Kry panics.

"That's impossible," Devin murmurs softly while putting me down.  "You know it doesn't work that way."

My body is completely healed, but my legs wobble beneath me as the lights in the elevator brighten to a blinding glare before bursting.

"Damn it.  What is she?" Kry gushes.

"I don't know.  Her parents are a mystery.  Nothing like this has ever happened before.  She shouldn't be so
… well, strong for one."

"Why are you acting scared of me?" I ask with a pout, and I feel so drunk right now.

"No, baby.  I'm not scared.  I'm just worried about you.  I kissed your head and the elevator felt like it was about to plummet.  I need to find out what's going on."

I frown like a sulking child.  I'm starting to wonder if I devoured a bottle of liquor without remembering it.

"Where are we going?" I ask dizzily while grabbing the wall to steady myself.

"She's almost incoherent.  A bad dream could set her off in this state.  We need to get her out of here before something happens," Kry grumbles.

I turn around to see Devin tightening his lips.  The elevator doors open, and he scoops me back up despite the disapproving eyes of Kry.

His mother is standing in the foyer waiting on us, her own concern displayed on her far too pristine face.

"Oh thank goodness.  What the hell is going on out there?  I saw a crazy flash storm, and then I heard a loud ruckus."

Devin swallows hard as he lays me on the couch.

"She's one of us.  She just changed.  We have to get her to a safe house.  There were men out there looking for me.  I could hear them long before I could see them.  I'm blind with her, and I'm blind with them.  I don't know what she might do in this state."

"She can't be one of us.  Her adoptive parents are legal mortals," she mutters dismissively.

"I saw it.  She called to the skies, and she got one hell of an answer," Devin says with a streak of terror.

"The skies?  She called to the skies?  That's impossible.  That power has been dormant for centuries."

This all sounds like some jumbled up load of crazy to me.  It's as if they're speaking another language.

"Please stop talking about me like I'm not sitting right here," I say while slumping down in my fully weakened state.

Devin frowns and joins me on the couch.  He wraps his arms around me, and I try to fight his perfect body touching mine.  The clouds outside start swirling in the night sky, and the thunder crackles its presence.

"Son, let her go," his mother says warningly.

He looks out the window and slowly releases me.  The clouds gently start to disappear the second he does.

She lowers to her knees in front of me and speaks so gently.

"Adisia?  I need to know what exactly triggered this first episode."

I roll my eyes as I cross my arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about.  I want to go home.  This is all too much," I slur slightly, the drunkenness reaching a new level.

The rain starts a slow drizzle as the clouds form once more.

"Don't make her mad," Ther says in a whisper.

She flashes him a disapproving glare, and then turns her attention back to me.

"Please, Adisia, I just need to know what made you call to the skies."

My anger eases slightly, and the rain flows a little lighter.

"I don't know what 'call to the skies' you're talking about.  The guy said he wanted to use me to get to Devin.  The next thing I know, the storm clouds sprang up.  I didn't call anything," I mumble.

"Oh dear," she says with panic.

Devin's eyes are wide as if I've said something terrible.

"She didn't call?  The skies just opened up to her?" he asks in disbelief.

"Her protectiveness sparked this.  Her feelings toward you invited the change.  This is completely unorthodox and incredibly dangerous.  Let's go ahead and move her while we still can."

"I'm not going anywhere but home.  Take me there now," I demand while tilting to the side that feels the heaviest in my unbalanced state.

The lightning outside the window strikes the ground, and I hear screams erupting from the streets that should be too far away for me to hear.  The thunder roars its frustration louder, and I feel a burning inside me that seems to be making the men in the room sway - with the exception of Devin.

"Oh no.  The skies are responding to her emotions more and more.  I
’ve never seen this.  You have to talk to her," his mother beckons.

He turns to me and takes a deep breath as if he's preparing to lecture a child.

"Adisia, I know this is all beyond crazy, but you have to trust me.  I know I have no right to ask you to do such a thing, but I'm begging you."

I feel the storm brewing inside of me more vigorously as I stare drunkenly into his eyes.  I feel the air in me being sucked from my lungs.  The dancing shadows cloud in my eyes as I feel myself falling
… falling… falling.

Chapter 8

The Dawning of New Life

My eyes bat gingerly as they slowly open to the inside of a car.  There's a slow, classical medley playing softly in the background to evoke a calm.

I feel the warmth of the body I'm propped against, and I grimace when I realize who it belongs to.

I slowly rise from Devin's arms, and he straightens up as I do.  The night is almost turning to day.  I look around to the numerous trees lining the two-lane road, and I feel the aching headache tumbling in a downward spiral, forcing me to clutch the weighted thing on my shoulders.

"Hey, you okay?" he whispers, sparing my throbbing head.

"Yeah.  Where are we?" I ask with a hint of agitation for the unfamiliar scenery.

"We're heading to a safe house.  You need some time to digest all this, and you need to be somewhere you can't hurt anyone."

"Hurt anyone?  What are you talking about?" I ask, starting to annoy my own self with the same, redundant phrase.

"Do you remember anything at all about the alley or my apartment?"

A few blurry memories pop into my head, and I shrug at what seems to be an impossible dream.

"Vaguely.  There was a storm and some crazy guys," I lie.

I remember more - much more - but I just want to go home and pretend none of this happened.  This can't be real, and I feel crazy for considering the possibility it is.

"You're not very good at lying, for the record.  I know you have some questions, and we've got questions too.  Go ahead and ask me anything you want to before we get there."

I frown slightly at my inability to hold a strong poker face.  I shrug in defeat and fight the tears back as I breathe in loudly.

"What did you do to me?" I whimper.

His eyes soften and rattle with guilt.

"I didn't do this to you," he breathes.

"You kept calling me infected, and now I've seen lightning crashing because I'm pissed.  Don't tell me this has nothing to do with you because I was perfectly normal until I met you."

The back of his hand strokes my cheek, and against my will, the unrelenting fire starts to surge.  Kry's voice rings out to caution him.

"Easy, Devin.  The car's starting to shake.  I think we now know what caused your engine to blow up,
” he mumbles.

My eyes widen in panic as I look to Devin for answers.

"He thinks I did that?  How?  Why?"

Devin sighs loudly.  "You and I were
… I'm not really sure what we were doing, but it was getting hot in the car before the engine went out.  I can't see you doing anything at all except with my own eyes in real time."

"You can see the future," I mumble sarcastically, as if that's the most unrealistic part of this whole thing.

"Yes, well, most of the time.  It's how I know when to enter a business deal.  I never saw that engine blowing up.  The first time I met you, I never saw you coming.  I blamed it on the fact I was distracted.  I planned on taking a glimpse of your future just to see what you were going to do, and I couldn't see anything - not even a blur.

"It was completely blank with not even a fragment of information to grasp a hold of.  That's never happened before.  It forced me to go to the window in that club and physically watch you.  Nothing has ever made me feel as alive as watching you with my own eyes.

"I had to know more.  I watched you turning away one fool after another, and it was enough to push me over the edge.  You were beautiful, carefree, brave, and this soft glow of sadness barely tainted you enough to arouse my curiosity even more.  One touch was all it took to know I was never going to escape you no matter how hard I tried.  I had to have you.  I've never heard of such an instant obsession," he murmurs.  "I still don't know what's going on."

"There's that word again, 'obsession,' why do you keep using it?"

"Because if an immortal gets too close, loves too much, or needs to vigorously, the mortal object of the immortal's desire becomes infected.  The obsession will devour one or both - depending on the details - and eventually the immortal always forgets how strong they are and how fragile their mortal is.

"It can make their mortal sick to feel such a strong connection.  I broke it off when I thought I had infected you, and I watched you from across the street to see if I was right or not.  If infected, you'll radiate symptoms of some immortal attributes, and you'll experience more pain and suffering than anyone in the world thought possible.

"I saw the men chasing you.  I saw the multitudes of flowers.  I saw the damage you did to your apartment-"

"So in short you acted like a peeping Tom watching me self-destruct and not doing anything about it?  Great.  Good to know," I snap in interruption.

"Adisia, I didn't watch you fall apart because I liked it.  I felt responsible, and it was killing me to-"

"So how do I get this infection out of me?" I interrupt again.

He frowns and looks down.

"It's not an infection.  It never was.  You're one of us, and we have to find out as much about you as we can very quickly before you get stirred up again.  I've never seen someone's powers come out the way yours did."

"Okay.  Now my head hurts.  Powers, immortals, crazy guys trying to break me like a piece of glass," I mumble, and he winces at the last part.  I take a deep breath and continue, "What am I?"

He tightens his lips as he prepares to deliver a speech he has apparently been apprehensive about, given his rigid posture and averting eyes.

"An immortal, at least now you are.  There are many mortals that never reach their immortal destiny - meaning they never find their triggers.  Sometimes their powers lie dormant and never get provoked."

I sigh out, trying to take in all the crazy, and gather my thoughts for the next thing burdening my mind.

"Define immortals, please," I request quietly.

"Immortals are embodiments of energy, originally created by the earth to keep all the excess energy from ripping it apart.  The embodiments corporealized and became the first wave of immortals, many of the mortals referred to them as the titans.

"They were discreet and docile.  The energy became too much for this group to harness, so a second string of embodiments were formed, and they took a more famed approach.  The mortals revered them as gods, and the ones they worshipped were forming at a larger pace daily."

"Whoa, whoa.  So you're saying we're gods or titans formed from the earth?"

Kry starts laughing, and I feel my cheeks blush.  I shouldn't feel embarrassed for asking a question, I should feel embarrassed for believing the answers.

Devin smiles so sweetly as if he's enjoying the fact I'm listening to all of this.

"No.  We're descendents of those embodiments, and we embody the same energy they were created from."

"So, you're saying
… we're from people like Zeus or Apollo?"

I expect a few more chuckles, but I get nothing.  Kry is concentrated on the road, but he answers me.

"Most of us are from less reputable ones.  Boy Wonder is from Poseidon though."

My eyes widen in disbelief.  Oh this is so crazy.

"I'm so confused right now."

Devin takes my hand in his and starts to kiss the back of it.  Kry's eyes narrow in the rearview mirror and Devin smirks before he lowers it.

"I know.  It's a lot to take in.  Most all forms of energy had numerous outlets.  Many different beings were created to take the load off of one when it became too much.  Forget every twisted thing you've ever read about the gods, every juvenile detail you've ever heard, and don't refer to them as anything other than immortals, because that's what they were.  That's what we are."

"If they were immortal then they should still be alive," I grumble.

Kry laughs at that, and Devin smiles again.

"Immortal doesn't necessarily mean invincible.  You can kill immortals; we just don't die too easily."

This time he does kiss the back of my hand, but I rip it free and cross my arms.

This is too much.  How can I possibly digest all of this?

Devin frowns a little as he looks at me with worried eyes.

“
So those guys who tried to break me, who were they?" I mumble.

Kry's laughter ceases instantly, and Devin's eyes swirl more prominently than I've seen them before.  The freaking ocean really is in there, and it's so gloriously hot right now.  I feel my fever returning as sweat forms on my chest above my ferociously pounding heart.

"We don't know.  They've come about in the last few centuries or so.  We've been fighting them, but they're not too easy to find.

"They're usually the ones finding us.  They infect mortals in a different way than we've ever seen.  These mortals take on severe mutations, allowing them to fight like an immortal for a while.  After the infection, their life span is usually no more than two years from what we can tell.  You need to stay with me so I can keep you safe."

"My family," I gasp.

"They're safe.  I have a team of men watching them, but I don't think they know who you are, or they would have come to your place instead of risking mine.  They
’re scared of us, but they need us dead for whatever they're planning."

"Why?"

Kry answers before Devin can.

"Because Theia can reverse any damage they do.  Her powers are hard to control, and there's a chance it could kill more than it saves if she rewinds time, but she can do it if the need arises."

"Rewind time?" I ask.  "Theia?"

"My mother," Devin answers.  "She's a titan."

"You mean a descendent of a titan?"

He shakes his head.  "No.  I mean one of the last true titans in existence.  There are only two.  She and our Emperian, Deidra, are the soul survivors of their kind.  If Mom is alive, they'll never be able to do as they want.  If she uses her power, the side effects can be grave.  She once rewound time to save my life, and a deadly epidemic killed thousands.  Her power is not without consequence, but they won't chance her undoing what they're planning to do."

That's too crazy to even touch.  I'm not asking about the Em…peri… whatever.  Subject changing time.

"They called me Alexius Smith.  They don't know my name yet," I murmur.

Devin and Kry both breathe out in relief.  Devin pulls my hand back in his and nods.

"That's good news."

Tears fill my eyes as I start choking on guilt.

"They killed a bunch of girls with that name while trying to find me," I sob.

"Shh," he coos gently while pulling me into his arms.  "It's not your fault.  These people will kill just to be killing.  Don't blame any of this on yourself," he comforts.

My tears feel like lava burning against my cheeks.  I can feel a storm inside of me brewing, and the car begins to shake as the wind outside strikes against it.

"Easy, Dev," Kry whispers.  "Calm her down before this gets bad."

I look outside to see the trees bending under the force of the wind, and my eyes widen.

"I'm doing this?" I ask in disbelief.

Devin tightens his lips.  "Yes," he murmurs hesitantly.

The panic inside of me stirs violently, and the sky turns completely black as the dark clouds overcome the lighter ones in a hostile takeover.  Rain starts pounding down vigorously against the car as it begs to break in and soothe me.  Small, spiraling clouds begin to descend by the tens.

"Oh fuck," Kry yelps.

The twisting clouds begin ripping up the ground and charging toward us, but I don't know how to make this nightmare stop.

"Calm her down!" Kry screams, but one of the twisting beasts grabs up the SUV like it's a stray weed and launches us into the air.

I fly through the vehicle as the powerful winds flip us from side to side.  I feel my body falling, shattering the glass of the front windshield, and then I'm spiraling with the strong winds.

I scream in vain, for the storm only worsens in response.

Calm down.  Calm down
.  How the fuck am I supposed to calm down right now?

Suddenly I'm falling too fast, and the clouds begin to thunder and crackle in response to my panic as I bounce against the ground with a heavy thump, but it doesn't hurt the way I expected it to.  In fact, I barely felt it at all.  Devin and Kry slap the ground, both landing on their feet.

Graceful assholes.

Devin stalks toward me and grabs me up from the ground.  His lips cover mine, devour me, and bring me to a whole new level of mind.

The winds around us disappear from my mind, and the drunken state returns with an extreme burn.  The storm inside of me begins to change, and my body leans into his.  The light burns in my eyes again, but I can't stop myself from loving his touch.  I need him right now, and my madness only grows.

My hands twist in his hair, and I can feel the weight of the world lifting from my shoulders.  His hands grip me tighter, pulling me into the kiss.  I'm too weak and wanton to fight this right now.  His tongue plays against mine, and I feel something stronger in me burning, as if it's singeing against our bodies.