The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (133 page)

             
“You di
d not answer my question.”

             
Now I needed to know what duties he would require of me, if I were to align completely with him. More importantly, I needed to know how I could help destroy our opposition. The war could distract me from my agonizing thoughts ab
out James. The hurt was throbbing inside of me, birthing an all too familiar beast:
Rage
. I had never taken any hit, physical or emotional, without hitting back harder and with better aim. The current state of things would amplify that tendency ten-fold.

             
“Why is my ability to know things so important to you, Adam?”

             
“Because you can see things, Brynna.” He answered solemnly. “You can feel what is to come. You can determine a person's true self with little effort. You can read their innermost thoughts. Not
to mention your vast knowledge on all things, small and large. Your power is
invaluable
. That is why Tyre, Rich Bachum and your father want you dead. That is why I want you alive.”

             
“So, if I stay here with you, what will you ask of me?”
             
“Nothing as
worrisome as what I'm sure you are imagining. Merely your opinion, which I have discovered you are not shy about sharing.”

             
I nodded, unable to decipher whether he was being honest or lying to me shamelessly. Even staring intently into his eyes did not ans
wer that question. It didn't matter, at least not in that particular moment.

             
“And if I refuse?” I asked.

             
He shrugged and raised his hands out to the side slightly.

             
“No matter what you decide, welcome to Lumiere.”

             
“What is that?”

             
“The name of the city.
”

             
I nodded and gazed into his intriguing eyes once again.

             
“I have a favor to ask of you. I will owe you a debt if you oblige.”

             
“That is a dangerous thing to say, Brynna. I am a man who never allows a debt to go unpaid.”

             
“I am well aware of that. I sens
ed that in you the day we met.”

             
It was true. The day my eyes had first met his, when he had appeared like a long dead ghost from the darkness of the forest, I had sensed in him great power and brutal strength, first and foremost. But behind all of that, I
sensed a man with an unrelenting grasp on all that was around him, including those who owed him.

             
“And still, you wish to say such a thing?” He asked almost breathlessly. “That is foolishness far below you.”

             
“Foolish or intelligent, it does not matter. I
'm sure you already know exactly what I am going to ask.”

             
“I can assure you that I do not, though I have theories.”

             
“Well, allow me to confirm one of them. I want Don to let Maura go. Though she and I will never be on sufficiently comfortable terms, she
is very important to my sisters and brother.”

             
Saying the words out loud relieved their burden. I had openly acknowledged, at last, that the bad blood, as they call it, between Maura and I would never evaporate. We would never be what we once were. I did n
ot hate her. In fact, I pitied her. Sometimes, a feeling hovers deep in the core of one's being, and no name can be given to it. It is simply a discomfort unlike any felt before. It is a mixture of terrible betrayal, dull hurt and in contrast, devastating
numbness. The three coexist simultaneously, none fighting for prevalence or longevity. They know they will survive for all time, like tumors immune to all medicine. Maura had provoked that feeling in me and yet I did not wish for her to die. Somewhere, ver
y deep down, cowering in the face of my still very alive and very powerful anger, was love for her. That love, if you can believe it, carried great strength.

             
Adam was studying me, searching my face for an answer to some question he would not pose.

             
“Short
of killing Don, there was only one other option. I had to come to you and ask for her to be spared.”

             
“Yes.”

             
I looked up at him.

             
“Yes?” I questioned. “Is that an affirmative in response to my statement or are you telling me that you will stop him?”

             
“Both. Donald listens to me. He knows the consequences will be severe if he does not. And yes, I will stop him.”

             
I nodded and reached out suddenly to grasp his hands. I didn't know why, but the touch between us sent a calming breeze through me, so very di
fferent from what I had experienced with James. Though the feelings were both undeniably pleasurable, they were so complex in their differences. James had sent warmth through me. Adam sent a soothing chill. Fire and ice, so to speak...

             
I snapped out of my
thoughts and looked up at him. He had leaned closer to me suddenly, pulling one of his hands from my grasp so that he could place it on my face. Only a deep seriousness was etched into every smooth line of his face. In the hypnotizing glow of his eyes tha
t was so reminiscent of the way the sun cast that serene, surreal light through the tree canopy of the Pangean forest, I saw both a hunger to continue whatever it was we were doing and a warning to me that I needed to pull away. It was a look of pure tortu
re, perfect evidence that beneath all of his arrogance, there was a self-loathing to rival my own. Adam and I were so incredibly similar. That similarity stunned both of us and drew us closer together as though our very cores were magnetized.

             
I had never
needed a man before and I still didn't. My heart was, admittedly, shattered by
James's betrayal. To completely renounce what I stated earlier, I will say that above all feelings, vulnerability is the absolute worst. Betrayal breeds it in abundance. Because
of how exposed I felt by what James had done, I was allowing myself to drift closer to Adam when I should have been running with wild, reckless speed in the opposite direction. Adam had been the one to send James and surely, he deserved a large percentage
of my wrath. But Adam had not slept beside me every night, telling me he loved me more than his own life and promising never to lie to me. Though Adam could protect me, I needed to prove once again that I could take care of myself. With those thoughts in
my mind, I pulled away from him, trying not to cringe as the ice that had pacified my demons melted away. In the flood it left, the worst parts of me sprung up, gasping for air after being submerged. I deserved such a terrible feeling. I hoped it would ser
ve as a reminder to me that I needed to keep my distance from Adam and anyone else that sought to protect and coddle me.

             
“Before you run off, berating yourself for allowing that moment of humanity, let me say this: James made another deal with me after he
ran from your campsite. I told him that should you two find one another, he was to protect you by whatever means necessary. Because he did not do as I ordered the first time, I was ready to kill him. He made another deal with me for his life like the cowa
rd that he is.”

             
“Is that meant to reassure me, Adam?” I asked softly with no edge to my voice.

             
“No, but this will: He loves you and his feelings on the matter have changed substantially. Three days ago, when we spoke, he told me to kill him. He said he w
ould rather die than trade you. Yet I could not abide by his wish. I could not end his life.”

             
“Why?” I whispered after swallowing hard to contain the headstrong tears that so boldly wished to fall.

             
“Because I see in your eyes every time you look at him,
and right now, also, how very much you love him. I cannot hurt you, Brynna, in any sense. I might not agree with your choice of man. I believe that you can do far better. But it is
your
choice.”

             
“What were the new terms of your deal?” I asked, somewhat ra
ndomly. “The one you made the last time you two spoke?”

             
“I told him that if he keeps you safe, I will not kill him. As long as you are alive, his debt to me is paid. It was the same deal as the second. It is the only one that truly matters. I simply want
what is best for you, Brynna.”

             
“Why is that?” My eyes gazed intently into his and I even leaned forward slightly in anticipation of his answer. “What am I to you, besides someone who possesses a power that you feel will guarantee you a victory in your war
?”

             
He smiled and laughed softly; the sound embraced my ears warmly and forced a small shudder to run up and down the length of my tired body.

             
“That is the reason. You most certainly do know all, my dear Brynna.”

             
I do not know what exactly it was that I
thought he would say in response to my last question. Perhaps I conceitedly believed that he truly did have feelings for me and that he would admit them outright. The way he wielded his charisma and dry humor in my presence led me to think that he wanted m
ore from me than just the services my power could offer. But now, he had affirmed that my power was all he needed. There was no secret lust for me, as my brain led me to believe, for whatever surely unnecessary reason.

             
“Such interesting thoughts. They are
very loud.”

             
I jumped up, shaking my head back and forth and covering my ears.

             
“If you can read minds, why do you need me to do it for you?”

             
“Your thoughts tend to scream. You feel things very strongly, which surprises me greatly. I can hear them becaus
e a part of you
wants
me to hear them.”

             
I was tempted to loudly exclaim about the excrement of a bull in obscene terms. Instead, I just shook my head and turned away from him. I searched my mind for an insult or statement that would successfully deflate h
is arrogance. But I was very tired and unable to fashion one that was both creative
and intricate. I had to settle on one that obviously betrayed my great exhaustion.

             
“Whatever you say, you audacious prick. Now, would you please honor your end of our agre
ement?”

             
His soft laughter followed me even after I had left the room.

XXX

             
Maura was in tremendous pain. Violet and Elijah sat by her side, dabbing the blood from her wounds, the sweat from her forehead and the tears that fell freely from her eyes with c
old water wrung into a rag. I stood outside of the door, leaning against the frame and smoking, pondering all that had occurred to the tune of Maura's sobs. Slowly, I began to sympathize with her. Just as that thought raised its voice to an audible volume,
I heard her:

             
“Brynna!” She called.

             
I furrowed my brows and looked into the room. For hours, she had cried for Elijah and Violet. Because he was old enough to handle the emotional strain of seeing our second mother in such a state, I had not stopped Elij
ah from taking his place at her bedside. Besides, she needed his medical expertise; her wounds were severe and the pain grew worse every hour. Violet, on the other hand, fought me endlessly when I stopped her from entering the room. Finally, I relented, ti
red of fighting with her, tired of fighting
at all.

             
“There was no reason for your violence towards her. You were simply attempting to eradicate your feelings of inadequacy. I hope you know that. I hope you realize that you and your friends beat and tormen
ted a woman in order to feel like men.” I told Don scathingly in an effort to ignore Maura's pleas for me. After a few moments, she went silent.

             
“Brynna...” In Violet's soft cry, I heard a plea for my merciful repentance. I heard her wish for me to enter
the room and comfort Maura. I heard her beg for a small touch of normalcy inside my intricate being, for a part that cared for others without being held firmly in opposition by the ghosts of the past.