Genesis (23 page)

“
That isn’t the first time
I’ve heard that phrase. What exactly are the dark
realms?”

He covered his shiver with a wan smile.
“Hell.”

I jerked back from him. It was only
impulse, but something inside me recoiled from the thought of such
a place. The idea of heaven and hell has always been up for debate,
but him saying it existed creeped me out.

I licked my lips, trying to calm my
raging pulse. “Tell me that’s a figurative term.”

He glanced at Luke who stared at us,
something unnerving lingering in his bright eyes. There was no way
he could hear our conversation, but I could have sworn he was
listening to us. Zach shifted so I couldn’t see Luke any more. “I
wish I could.”

Closing the gap between us, I chanced a
look at Zach. “What happened to you two on that island?” I would
never ask Luke such a thing, but Zach could take it.

His eyes found mine before roaming over
the rest of me like a caress. “Why do you want to know?”

I wished he’d stop doing that. Being
this close to him made my brain switch to standby. I clenched my
eyes shut and held my breath for a second. That was
better.

Trying not to offend him, I
made like I had gotten distracted and looked over my shoulder to
suck in a quick breath. His spicy scent still surrounded me. He
gave me a knowing waggle of his brows, smiling like I’d lit his
night sky. I couldn’t help the smile that crept up my lips. It was
so good to have the tension between us gone. I’d been the one to
put it there, but still, Zach was important to me. Once I was able
to find a bit of focus, I set into what I wanted to ask him. “I
need to understand what I’m up against. More important than what
happened is what
she
has planned.”

He picked at some dirt on his shoe.
“She didn’t share that with me, Rayla, but it doesn’t take much
imagination to guess.”

That answer wasn’t good enough. “I’ve
heard she wants to create her own world.”

He wasn’t as shocked as I expected.
“Most likely true…to an extent. Creating worlds is what Gods are
for.”

I shook my head. Deeper and deeper we
go, where we’ll stop nobody knows. “So she wants to hijack this
one?”

Zach pinned me with his stare. “You
have to understand something very important. This world is only a
spec in the eye of your creator. Even your Bible tells of worlds
unnumbered. She’s hoping he won’t care if this one falls
away.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Is that a possibility?”

It took him longer to answer
me than it should have. “Not really, but if she can get enough
humans to want the world to change, it
will
happen.”

I grunted. “She’s lying to
them?”

He cocked his head. “We aren’t allowed
to lie.” I scoffed, but he went on as if he hadn’t heard me. “Yet
we can manipulate the truth.”

“
You should know,” said Luke
from over my shoulder.

When had Luke sat next to me? I stared
at him, scolding him with my eyes. He was practically seething in
his chair. “That wasn’t very nice,” I told him.

Zach stood. “It’s okay. I need to get
Styx settled for the night.”

I jumped to my feet. “You brought
him!”

Zach threw his head back and laughed.
“I thought you were scared of him.”

I shrugged. “Not anymore.” A shudder
swept through me. “Not after all the other things I’ve seen in this
place.” Seeing Luke’s expression plummet did strange things to my
heart, so I stepped over to him and grabbed his hand. “Would you
like to come?”

His eyes lit up, and so did my smile.
“If you’re asking?”

I pulled on his fingers. That was all
it took for him to be right beside me with an arm draped over my
shoulder. I didn’t mind. I was supposed to be spending quality time
with him, after all.

The stables were larger than I
remembered from the other day, but then nothing seemed the same
other than the not so pleasant smell. It was brighter and nearly
every stall filled with animals of one sort or another.

We had to be in a different part of the
castle. My stomach turned to a bag of rocks at the thought of
talking to Styx. It was strange to feel this way. He was just as
much of a friend to me as anyone here. I guess my anxiety started
because in the deepest part of me I believed he could help me
figure this all out. Now, if I could only get him to do
it.

A loud snort came from the far stall
and then a crash split the air. Zach raced over to Styx. I let go
of Luke’s hand and ran to him.

“
Control your temper,”
commanded Zach.

Something buzzed in my mind. Was it
Styx? I concentrated on the sound and his screaming whacked me
upside the head.

“
Whoa,” I said, skittering
away. A piece of hay got lodged in my sandal. I hopped in place,
trying to pull it out before it became a permanent part of my foot
and shook my head at him.

Styx kicked the gate again. “You
promised me! It’s been hours already.”

“
Styx?” I said, using a soft
tone. “What’s wrong?” I could guess, but I didn’t want to make
assumptions.

His dark voice came loud and clear. “Do
you know where she is?”

I sidestepped Zach who tried and failed
to catch my arm. “I think she’s in a stable on the other side of
the castle grounds.”

Zach pushed past me. “I have to get
approval first. You know that!”

Styx turned in the stall, facing us
now. The view was much better, although his obsidian eyes burned
with furor. “You’ve had plenty of time.”

I grimaced. “I’m afraid that’s my
fault, Styx. I’ve been keeping him.”

A grunt. “Do this for me, my lady, and
I will be forever indebted to you.”

“
Nonsense. Of course you can
see Bastion.”

He kicked the back wall at the mere
mention of her name. I conjured an apple, and held it out for him.
Zach gave me an awed glance, but I ignored him and focused on
soothing the raging beast in front of me. “Something to take your
mind off.”

He snatched it from my hands faster
than I could pull back my fingers. He actually nipped me.
“Ow!”

“
Sorry,” he said, but it
sounded muffled.

“
Geez. Get a grip already. I
said I would help you.” He huffed and purple smoke hazed through
the air. I put up my hands. “Yeah, I’ll just go now…be right
back.”

I found Jett still in the
great hall. I drifted to save time, but it would have been easier
if I had remembered I could send him a mental message
before
I came all the way
here.

He leaned against the table chatting
with Mom. Theirs was an easy friendship. Theran wasn’t around so
that probably helped. “Hey,” I said, looking down at Jett. “I need
to talk to you.”

“
Of course.” He stood.
“Excuse me, Ali.”

There was no way Theran would be okay
with Jett using a pet name for my mom, yet neither of them seemed
to care. Mom nodded, but I pulled Jett away too fast for her to
actually say anything.

When we reached the corner, I blurted,
“I want Styx and Bastion together. You’ve told me you would give me
anything I want, so…”

His eyes flew as wide as his smile.
“Already learning manipulation, I see.” He grunted. “Very well.
Your wish and all that.”

I hugged him. “Thanks! I won’t forget
this.”

His voice came out dark. “I’m counting
on it.”

I hesitated for only a second. Oh,
bother, why did I suddenly think there was more to that response
than the question of who I bonded with? Too bad I didn’t have time
to pull his hidden meaning out of him right now, but later, well,
he’d better answer my questions.

I drifted back. Styx had mutilated the
stall, but surprisingly, it held. I unlatched the gate. “Come
on.”

Styx blasted a thought at me. “Jafan
agreed?”

“
No. Jett did.” I shook my
head at him. “Time’s ticking.”

He followed me like a good pegasus to
the pasture, and he didn’t even rear back more than once. Bastion
raced against the wind, her bright wings pinched to her sides.
Somehow, she seemed more arrow dynamic than a horse with those
wings of hers. I opened the gate, and Styx gunned forward, catching
up to her. She bit his neck and he bucked.

I turned away. They needed
privacy.

Zach and Luke watched me.

I cleared my throat, unsure what to
think about their grim expressions. “What now?”

Luke locked eyes with me. “Now, we
talk.”

I found myself sandwiched between two
hunky lords who currently fought for control of the conversation.
If they didn’t cut it out I was going to backhand both of
them.

“
Shut up!” I shouted after I
couldn’t take another second of it. Two angry faces snapped toward
me. I gave a curt nod. “Thank you.” Man, I should have thought this
through before I demanded their attention. I had no idea what to
say. “Um, what I meant to say was that I can’t hear both of you at
once.”

Zach dipped his head, deferring to
Luke, who smiled as if he had won some major battle. “I learned
much during my captivity.”

I touched his hand. “Are you sure you
want to talk about it.”

He grunted, fixing a belligerent stare
at me. “I am not so weak as you have imagined me. I managed to fool
a certain princess into believing me incapable of being a threat.
In fact, she thinks she has control of my mind.”

Okay? That wasn’t good, or was it? “So
she’s directing you?” Luke nodded. I gulped down the bolder in my
throat. “Can she hear us now?” I really hadn’t meant that to come
out as a cell phone commercial.

“
I am shielding this
conversation,” said Zach, cutting off my inner chuckle.

Luke rolled his eyes. “Once I
discovered her desire to capture my mind, I let her in. To better
know what we truly face, I let her think she had
succeeded.”

“
Hang on,” I said. “Why
aren’t Jett and Taylor out here?” The two of them shared a look I
did not like.

“
We don’t know if it is
safe,” said Zach finally. “She has ways to snare an unsuspecting
mind. Our plan depends on the other lords believing she has made a
mind slave of Luke. It will keep them attuned to possible
invasions. We will discuss this with them later. There is another
thing you should know. She also believes I am her
captive.”

I licked my lips. Trust was such a
fragile thing. If I didn’t trust the men that had risked so much to
protect me, then who could I trust? Tabitha’s warning rushed into
my mind. I’d go along with this for now, but I had to be guarded. I
looked at them in succession. “Tell me your plan.”

Luke shoved his fingers through his
hair, and it went all sexy surfer. I totally wanted to fix the tiny
spot in the back that refused to lay the same direction as the rest
of his mane. “She did forge a link with my mind. Make no mistake, I
am still aware when she taps in, yet the line gets more fragile as
time goes on.”

“
What are you
saying?”

“
There is a risk,” Zach
interrupted. “If she claims enough power, she might be able to
accomplish the very thing she thinks she already has.”

When both of them stared at me
expectantly, it hit me. “You want me to pick,” I whispered. The
words were like super glue against my throat.

“
Yes,” they said in
unison.

Zach continued his explanation where
Luke dropped off. “Even if neither of us is your choice, it must be
done…for the safety of Faeresia and your beloved humans. You have
had time with each lord now.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he
waived me off. Luke’s expression still had me wondering. He didn’t
seem to agree with Zach on this one, yet he wasn’t complaining. “We
understand what we are asking of you. We also realize this would be
a sacrifice on your part. It’s up to you, but delaying can only
lead to paths you don’t want to traverse.”

I nodded. “I need to think about
it.”

They stood. Zach gave me a pat on the
shoulder. “We will leave you to it.”

I walked back to the castle in sort of
a daze. My thoughts still swirled with questions that didn’t seem
to have answers; however, night had descended at an alarming rate,
and I couldn’t linger outside any more. I made it past the guards
and two thirds of the way to my room before a familiar sound halted
me where I stood.

Hissing.

I rolled my eyes. Not the smartest
thing I had ever done, but couldn’t everything just leave me alone
for two seconds so I could think? Besides, they should have wards
against these things? Squaring my shoulders, I turned toward the
sound. I should have gone the other way or shouted for help, but I
wanted to see why it had come back. It could have killed me or
sucked out my soul already if it wanted to.