The Last Oracle (37 page)

Valeria considered arguing, but Kristiana settled it.

“She stays,” Kristiana said evenly as she walked to Alex, ignoring Valeria’s presence. As she brushed her hand over his chest, Kristiana said, “Do you recall how sweetly we made love?” Alex drew a breath, uncertain of how to respond without antagonizing her.

“That was a long time ago,” he said.

Kristiana continued to gaze lovingly at him. Valeria’s eyes narrowed, repulsed, as Kristiana wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against him. “I recall every moment of it. I think of it always. I know you must have enjoyed yourself.” Then she lowered her brow for a moment. “You called me ‘Circe’ and you said you would do anything for me...
anything
.” Then her eyes grew cold and her voice hardened. “Except the only thing that I wanted...”

“Kristiana...I didn’t call you Circe,” Alex said hesitantly, “I think you have me confused...”

“SILENCE!” she screeched as she pulled away from him and sulked, staring down at the ground. As she circled back to him, her voice became more reasonable and she drew a dagger from the belt of her ragged skirt.

Leaning into him again, she traced the point of the dagger along the edge of his face and he placed his hands on her arms trying to gain some control of the blade and her closeness.
“Remove your hands!”
she growled, smiling as he obeyed.

“You see, my sweet husband, I am the Cumaen Sibyl. You may not speak—and you may not touch me—unless I permit it. And you have been very, very bad. Now you should turn around.” She pushed the point of the dagger into his right shoulder and forced him to turn. Once his back faced the entrance to Aegemon’s room, she moved the dagger over his neck and down to his chest. Pushing the point near his heart, she forced him to walk backward into the main room, near her golden throne. Valeria followed at a distance.

“Do you recall how you used to love to touch me?” She ran the dagger down to Alex’s stomach as she nodded toward Valeria. “Tell her. Tell her how you wanted me more than you could ever want her.” Seemingly unaware of Alex’s turmoil, she smiled and said softly, “Did you know that we have a son?”

Narrowing his eyes for a split second, Alex said cautiously, “Paolo was a grown man when we...” Seeing the insanity beginning to cloud her eyes, he changed his approach. He had to get Valeria out of here. “Kristiana, you and I have things to discuss that should remain between just the two of us—”

“Alex, do you believe that child is yours?” Kristiana asked as she briefly pointed her dagger toward Valeria’s stomach.  “Did she tell you that she was sleeping with Aegemon while you pined away for her? Did she tell you that?”

Kristiana played with her crystal necklace, and then eyed Valeria
suspiciously  as she began to hum a lullaby. Valeria recognized it from her dream and shuddered from the haunting memory.

“Do you know how much misery you have caused me?” Kristiana asked—finally speaking to Valeria. “Why couldn’t you remain dead?” She crossed her arms and seemed to be pondering a great truth. “I have learned not to depend on anyone but myself! Even the Fates lie. They promised me, but then they continued to bring you back.
Cowards!
Did they not know that Apollo was gone? I told them so.” Then her voice sounded almost sane. “But now I’ve been promised that you will not return. It cost me dearly—but it is finally done. They have agreed.”

Alex raised his arms, trying to calm her. “Kristiana, let’s talk alone,” he said.

“Conversation is overrated.” Kristiana waived her hand dismissively.

Keeping his voice as calm as possible, he said, “Kristiana, you know that this has nothing to do with her. You and I should resolve this alone!” Seeing the rage building inside her, he played his trump card. “You know that if you harm her, I will never forgive you.”

Suddenly, Kristiana thrust the dagger into Alex’s stomach and Valeria screamed.

Kristiana leaned her face inches from Alex’s, with the blade still in him. Seeing his stunned expression, she justified, “That was only a caress.” Then she kissed him lightly, as he struggled to maintain consciousness; with an easy shove from Kristina, he fell to the ground.
She lowered her brows at his expression. “What?” She shrugged. “I did warn you that you must not speak unless permitted!”

Stepping over Alex, and dredging her skirt through the pool of blood now in front of him, Kristiana laughed lightly at Valeria’s expression of horror. She swiped the bloody dagger over her skirt as she moved toward Valeria.

“I promised myself that you would watch me cut his heart out first, but I’ve changed my mind,” she said in a seemingly rational tone that left icy chills on Valeria’s spine. “Now I believe it would most please me if my husband watched you die.”

Lunging forward, Kristiana anticipated Valeria’s move and caught her arm with her free hand and twisted it behind Valeria’s back. Then she moved the blade to Valeria’s throat. “
Watch her die!”
she said rabidly.

“Mother!”
Paolo said from the hallway. He caught the view of Alex in the corner, but didn’t allow himself to look away from Kristiana. “Please!” he said, as he lifted his hands, attempting to calm her.

Kristiana’s face lit up and her eyes brightened.
“My Paolo!” She smiled with pride. “Still so handsome!” She glanced down at Valeria and her eyes lit up like a child’s, as she said conspiratorially, “Paolo...see what I have for you? A new toy! Do you like her?” She smiled and began petting Valeria’s hair with the blade of the dagger. “I could take her to the underworld for you and I could keep her alive for a short while...not long. You could play down there, like you did many years ago—remember your friends? Would that please you?”

Paolo narrowed his eyes and tightened his jaw. No one had known the secrets of his upbringing. He never discussed the playground that would’ve been any other child’s nightmare—or the friendships that others would consider hellish.

“Mother, you must release...” Paolo thought for a moment as he took a cautious step forward and then decided, he said, “You must release Isabella.” Paolo took another step. “Do you recall that she is my wife? My Isabella? Do you remember?” He took another step. “Please release her, and then I can take you to our home—our Bella Vida. It’s a beautiful home and I have waited for you to join me there,” he said, reaching for Kristiana. Still holding Valeria, Kristiana jerked back, away from Paolo, nearly breaking Valeria’s arm.

“Mother, we could be happy at Bella Vida—please!” he said as he reached for her again. Kristiana swung the dagger and slashed Paolo across his hand.

Aegemon’s voice came from his bed in the other room. “Grab her necklace! That’ll kill the witch.”

Hearing Aegemon’s suggestion, Kristiana glared toward the dying man’s room and then back to Paolo. A low growl worked its way to her lips. “Have you betrayed me, Paolo?” Kristiana glared at him before turning her rage toward Valeria. Yanking Valeria’s head back, Kristiana growled, “Look what you have done—
you have turned everyone against me!”

“Not everyone,” Max said calmly as he stepped into the room. Kristiana was stunned into near silence.

“Max?” she murmured, as her eyes widened in confusion and affection.

“Circe, you really are alive!” Max smiled softly and, suddenly, the anguish and pain in his eyes melted. “I’ve missed you. I didn’t believe I would ever see you again,” he said in nearly a whisper as he held out his arms to her. He took another step toward her, as Kristiana tightened her grip possessively on Valeria.

“Do you love her, too?”

He locked his gaze on Kristiana’s as his head turned slowly. “There is no one in this world who I will ever love, as much as I love you,” he said, keeping eye contact with her while taking another step forward. Her eyes softened as they filled with love.

“My...Max,” she said, closing her eyes to take in the pleasure of the moment. When she opened them, she seemed confused. Squinting, she bit her lip and her eyes began to move back and forth slowly, increasing in speed as if a rapid crossfire was occurring in her mind. Then her face began to twitch as it contorted in agony.

“Circe?” Max said, reaching for her.

She held up the dagger, defensively, and then yanked Valeria’s head back further, as though she would either break her neck or slice it in an instant. Max lifted his arms calmly and then Kristiana screamed,
“All of you betrayed me!”
She moved backward to a heavy metal door.

With each step, Valeria was thrown off balance due to Kristiana’s unpredictable steps. Kristiana’s eyes darted to Paolo. “Even my beautiful boy...Do you know that I am the only one who will ever love you?” She began to sob like a child, and yanked Valeria’s head back with her. Paolo’s eye twitched as he shook off her words that had haunted him for an eternity.

Lifting his arms, Max stepped back. “Circe, the kid is right, we could go to Bella Vida—you, me, and...Paolo. We could have the life you’ve always dreamed of,” he said.

Shifting her weight nervously, from foot to foot, Kristiana glanced at Valeria. As she stared at her swollen belly, and as if she had just noticed it, Kristiana’s eyes widened in shock. Glaring angrily back and forth between Max and Valeria, her face reddened in rage. “
Have you been sleeping with my husband?
” She jerked Valeria back toward the door. Kristiana lowered her brows and she began to whisper the words she had just said as if she had just heard them. “Max...did you do that to her?” Kristiana asked with so much pain that all Max could do was turn his head as she stared at him, desperate to find some sanity in her eyes.

Alex tried to rise to his feet, but he couldn’t find the strength. He watched in horror, unable to do anything to stop what appeared to be inevitable.

For the first time, Valeria spoke in a voice that was tense, but determined. “Kristiana—Circe—I really don’t want to hurt you.”

This caused Kristiana to laugh hysterically as she jerked Valeria around to face her. Placing one hand on her neck, and raised the dagger. “I was a great warrior! You were just a princess—who do you expect will win?”

Before Max and Paolo could move, Valeria raised both of her arms up and slammed her locked fists over Kristiana’s elbow, forcing it to bend and automatically diverting the knife from her throat. Then she said, “I didn’t survive New York by being fragile!” 

Clinging to Kristiana’s hand with the dagger, Valeria threw a two knuckle punch to Kristiana’s larynx. Paolo lunged at Kristiana’s arm that was holding the dagger. When Valeria pulled her hand back, her fingers caught on the cord that held the crystal. Just then, Kristiana swung around Paolo to kick at Valeria’s stomach. Valeria turned to
avoid the impact and felt the snap of Kristiana’s cord and the dagger dropped to the ground.

The shriek stopped all action as Kristiana’s eyes widened in shock. Her left hand clutched the crystal and her other hand flew up to cover her face—horror replacing the mix of her other emotions. In an instant, the smell of stagnant air was replaced with the smell of rotting flesh. Kristiana glanced at Max as her horror turned to grief. He reached for her, but she shook away from him as tears filled her eyes.

Then Kristiana’s rage returned and she grabbed the dagger from the ground and lunged with fury at Valeria. As the dagger approached her chest, Valeria found herself suddenly airborne and then recognized the comfort of Alex’s arms that were now around her. They careened into the wall and rolled onto the cold stone.

There was the sound of old hinges giving way and an eerie breeze moved through the room, accompanied by a feeling of deep despair from the lost souls.

Kristiana stood at an ancient metal door as her fingers moved over her newly disfigured face; she stared at Max and said, “Now, no one will want me.”

“Circe!” Max said stepping toward her. She held her hand up as if to stop him and stepped back toward the threshold to hell. But this time Max refused to back-off. “Please, come to me.”

Shaking her head as she mourned her beauty. “I know you could never love me now,” she cried as her foot hit the edge of her throne and she lost her balance. Kristiana grasped the air as she disappeared into the blackness of the underworld.

Paolo pushed the metal door closed and it groaned as it clanked shut.

Alex’s hands were shaking as he held Valeria tightly; they wrapped their arms around each other, grateful for the moment as both of their hearts raced.

“Are you all right?” he whispered in her hair. She nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Valeria pulled back and looked at the bloody hole in his shirt. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine in just a few minutes,” Alex said. They sat there holding each other while Alex recovered. Then he stood and helped
Valeria up. “Is there a way out of there, Paolo? I should probably go after her.”

Aegemon cackled from his bed. “You oracles are supposed to know so much!” he hacked. “You go and you’ll be lost forever in her world—just as she has always desired!” He laughed and hacked again.

“No, Alex!” Valeria said in a near cry.

“Don’t worry, I could never leave you!” he said, as he rubbed his hands along her back. Then he brushed her belly and felt the baby kick. “I’ll just wait for her to return.”