Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood (14 page)

Everyone silences and stands to greet them.

“No, please, sit and enjoy your breakfast,” Robbie says.

“Wow, gods. It must suck having that job,” Jonny says.

“Jonny!” Dave snaps.

“Well, I guess it would be better to become a pro spoon balancer,” Nora says with a smile.

Jonny laughs.

“See my new sister has a sense of humor. By the way, I’m Jonny and that is my father, Dave,” Jonny says.

Robbie and Nora nod. The girl jumps out of her seat with her plate. She shakes Nora’s hand and then hugs her tightly.

“I’m Marina.”

Nora glances over at Robbie and as she suspected, he is laughing at her uncomfortableness. After a moment, Nora also laughs.

“The bacon thief is Rocco, and that is Mike,” Marina says, sticking her tongue out at Rocco.

After breakfast, Robbie gathers everyone into the family room.

“First, I want to welcome everyone to our home. Everything we have is yours. Second, we need to share everything we know about the Shadows. As of now Nora and I know nothing that can help us. All we know is that they want us dead, for the obvious reason. We also know that the gods will destroy this world before letting Dumont have it. That also means the end of our lives. Although Nora and I don’t have the strength of the gods yet, we are still our only hope of keeping this world alive. We need your help to do that,” Robbie says.

“We recently learned that Shadows feed on blood. The more powerful the being, the more fulfilling for the Shadow. That is why Vilmo are hunted. As disturbing as that is, that is not the most disturbing part. The head Shadow, Aria, recently started feeding on Vilmo energy, not only stripping them of their life, but also claiming their power. Which makes her damn near impossible to beat. For a while, her strength was fueled by Dumont’s power, but now that she has her own, she is out of control,” Zen says.

“What? How can she do that?” Nora snaps.

Robbie silences her with a look. Nora didn’t know what came over her. She didn’t know why she felt incredibly angry all of a sudden. She sat on the sofa in silence, afraid of what she may say next.

“Are you okay?” Robbie asks her.

Nora nods, feeling foolish. She gives Zen an apologetic look and smiles. Unfazed by Nora’s sudden mood swing, Zen smiles back.

“Dumont has claimed a Diamond form for protection,” Zen finishes.

“The dark energy that flows off of that thing is unbelievable,” Jonny says, slumped down on the couch. 

“It’s the darkest thing I’ve ever felt,” Dave agrees.

“The dark energy comes from the angry souls of the dead Dumont has claimed,” Robbie says.

Every Szion in the room gasps, and fear floods each face.

“How are we supposed to stop Dumont?” Dave asks.

Robbie shakes his head.

Every voice is penetrating Nora’s ears like needles. She suddenly hates them all. Soon their faces are blurry and a sharp pain trickles down her back. She stands up slowly to go to her room, but her legs are weak. Robbie lifts her into his arms and rushes her to bed. She can faintly hear everyone’s voices as they worry about her, then soon the only voice she can hear is Robbie.

Can you hear me, Nora?
He asks in a wordless whisper.

“What’s wrong with me?”

I don’t know. What do you feel?
He asks, brushing her hair from her face.

“I can barely see, I hurt everywhere, and I am so angry, Robbie.”

Robbie sighs.

“Robbie can you see inside me?”

“I can try,” he says, leaning in to kiss her.

She closes her eyes. His energy races through her, touching every atom in her body. As his lips press against hers, the pain subsides. A few seconds pass and they pull apart.

“It’s Aria, they know about the twins. She can't bond with you to find you, but somehow she is still connected with you. This is her anger and her pain,” he says, with his eyes full of worry.

She’s draining me, Robbie
. Nora thinks.

“No, Nora.
You
are draining you. You are fighting her connection, which is draining your energy. Only you can block her completely. You have to be strong, Nora.”

“Why are we whispering?”

“No need to send panic through the others,” he answers, with a smile.

Nora pulls him close to her as they lay in the bed.

“Will you help me?”

He nods, and they close their eyes. They link to one another sending energy quickly racing through both bodies like bolts of lightning. Seconds later Nora is free. She can see, there is no pain, and she is no longer angry. She pulls Robbie close and thanks him with a kiss.

“She will keep trying. They will not stop until we’re dead, or they are,” he says.

“Well, I guess we better make sure it’s not us. But for now can we not think about that?” Nora says taking off Robbie’s shirt. He gives her that dimple filled smile she loves so much and kisses her tenderly.

“Mrs. Hingi, are you seducing me?”

“Damn right, sir,” she says, tugging at his belt buckle.

He scoops her up in his arms and they disappear.

In the weeks that pass Robbie and Nora develop and learn new abilities every day. The babies grow stronger by the day, using Nora’s energy. In turn, Nora grows weaker. She expected to feel her children as a human mother would her unborn. She talks to them, hoping she can get them to kick, but they never do. At times, when she is exhausted from keeping Aria out of her head, she feels a rush of energy released from the twins.

Nora’s dreams come less often now, and everyone in the group has been loving and comforting. Each of them has grown to love Nora and Robbie as much as they do them. They are truly a happy family. Mia and Zen grow closer, and although Mia tries to fight her obvious feelings for Zen, by only allowing herself to see their differences, he tugs at her heart each time he looks at her.

At first Nora was bitter about the two of them, seeing that it has only been a few months since her father's death, but as usual, Robbie opens her eyes. Showing her the other side of Mia’s cursed life. He starts by telling her Zen’s story. After, Nora realizes that although her mother and father were husband and wife, neither of them were able to have a real relationship.

“Mia doesn’t know what it feels like to have someone love her completely with no limitations. She misses Noah as much as you do. It’s guilt that holds her back and keeps her fighting,” Robbie says.

“I wonder if Mia would fight so hard to hide her feelings if she knew just how connected she and Zen really are. What they share she will never be able to contain. A Szion bond is a powerful thing,” Nora says.

Robbie and Nora sit at the kitchen table playing cards. Just as Nora is about to win, pain strikes, traveling down her spine and into her stomach. It was a kick from the twins. As much pain as she is in, she giggles with excitement.

“They kicked! Robbie!” she yells.

Robbie frowns.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Well, now that I know how much pain one kick brings, I won't be begging for another,” Nora jokes, clutching her stomach.

“Maybe you should lie down, Nora,” Mia says, brushing Nora’s hair with her hand.

Robbie lifts Nora to her feet and walks her to the room. Nora lies on the bed, staring at him. He sits next to her rubbing her stomach with soft comforting strokes. The pain eases quickly as if he has calmed the babies as he often calms her.

“Do you think that Aria can be saved, Robbie?”

Each day Nora becomes sick to her stomach knowing that one day soon it will be she that will have to take her sister's life.
What if there was some way to change her. After all, she was raised by evil, it may be possible to show her there is another way to live.
Robbie sighs.

“Nora, for years your father looked for ways to save Aria. Each time he tried she attacked him. She made it very clear that she did not want to change. Many times Noah could have killed her, but he just couldn’t bring himself to take her life. His love for the daughter he once held in his arms was stronger than his hate for the demon she now is. As she grew stronger and fiercer, Noah’s heart grew heavier, knowing soon he would have no choice but to take her life, but by this time it was too late, she had become too strong,” Robbie says.

“How do you know that?” Nora asks.

“My father … Hold on, Zen can tell you more,” Robbie closes his eyes and silently asks Zen to join them.

“Robbie is right. For many years, Noah battled with knowing his daughter needed to die. He just never had the heart to do it, nor would he allow anyone else to. Noah, Rod, and Robert came to me the night he gave his life to you,” Zen says slowly walking in the room. “They told me they may have found a Shadow hideout and they needed my help. I’ve never questioned them. But—this time was different. They knew something they didn’t want me to know, which was very unlike them. I knew something was wrong, but I would never say no when any of them needed help and they would do the same for me. Four hours before the fight in the cave, we went into battle in the woods of Jacksonville, Florida, we failed at our chance to destroy Dumont and we lost twelve Szion. We retreated.

“Noah and Robert knew that if they didn’t make you two stronger, you would be killed. That wasn’t an option for any of us. Noah said Aria and Dumont were bonded by evil.

“When Robert called to Robbie for help, Noah lured Aria to the cave by promising her you, Nora. He must have known how powerful you two would become after you gave birth.

“Aria knows you are pregnant, but she doesn’t know you are having twins or the fact that you have your father’s life. Her goal is not to kill your children. She wants your life. She wants what was taken from her. But Dumont has other plans. He needs a body, strength, and no competition.

“Each body he possesses only last a few years. In one of your bodies, he will be almost immortal. If he ever finds out about the twins he will kill them both for their power. I’m sorry Aria is not your sister anymore, Nora. She can’t be saved,” Zen says.

“Aria knows about the twins now,” Robbie says softly.

Zen sighs.

“Thank you, Zen,” Robbie says.

Zen nods and leaves the room. Before exiting the room completely, Zen turns to Robbie and smiles.

“The crew is on the hunt for more information. We will always be at your side my lord,” he says.

“Zen, find the rubies that bind us. Send them to the deepest part of the sea. We need to stop anyone from using them against us,” Robbie says.

“Finding them all will be impossible, but we will find all that we can,” Zen replies.

Robbie, thanks him again before he walks out the door.

“How do you feel?” Robbie asks Nora.

“Fine now. A little sad for my mom, but other than that, I feel great—thanks to you,” Nora says snuggling up against Robbie’s warm body.

“Nora, I need to talk to you about something. Defeating Aria won’t be easy, I think that you may be the only one who can kill her. The gods told me that you two may be bonded by life. I had a vision of my own and—her death could mean yours. I have seen death, but when I looked into you, my vision went blank before I could tell which one of you it was. With our bond, we should be able to kill her without killing you, but it means you getting control of how she controls your mind,” Robbie says.

Nora slips on a fake smile to hide how terrified she truly is.

“Don’t worry, I can do this,” she says.

“I know.
We
can do this. You will not be alone,” he says, hugging her tight.

Robbie feels her fear as much as she feels his, but it was just easier to pretend they had everything under control.

“Robbie, you have to believe in me.”

“Believing in you is not the problem, Nora. I worry about you not believing in yourself,” he says.

Robbie wasn’t alone in that worry. Nora questioned if she could be strong enough to save her family? Her head throbs. She didn’t want to think about the fact that she may not be around to watch her children grow up. So, she quickly changed the subject.