Curse of Shadows and Light (33 page)

They lash out weakly with their free arms, but they don’t touch me. I continue to drain from them every last drop of energy, until they finally collapse in a pile of broken black shards at my feet, and the stream of smoke firing from my mouth slowly dies.

Breathless and shaking, I collapse in a heap to the ground.

********

The white serpent delivers me, dazed but exhilarated, back to where she picked me up. I can barely think, let alone process all that’s just happened.

I see Vincent and Corrine and Demetri waiting for me. I don’t see Kieron.

“
Liora!” Corrine comes running over and throws her arms around me. She gives me a hug, then pulls back and scrutinizes me. “Are you okay? You seem more… normal. Your eyes aren’t red anymore!”

I nod. “Where’s Kieron?” I ask.

Vincent and Corrine exchange a quick glance. “He left,” Corrine says. “He was needed by his unit, and he wanted to help. Felt that was the place for him to be right now. He said that you’d know why and that you’d understand.”

Her words feel like a punch in the gut. So that’s it. No goodbye. Nothing.

I swallow, and she puts her arms around me. “He said it’s just for now, until things settle down around Thiberoux, and that he’ll be back to check on you soon.” She nods to Vincent and Demetri. “He said we were in good hands with them.” I notice that they are both wearing pants now, although neither pair seems to fit exactly right.

I turn back to the white creature. “
Thank you
,” I think to her. She bobs her serpentine head, and lifts up and flies away.

I grab Vincent’s hand.

“
Let’s get the hell out of here.
Now
!”

Chapter 32. Liora

This can’t be right. I must be dreaming.

I reach out… It really is her. And I’m really here. I blink several times and throw my arms around her.

“
Tattie!”

I squeeze her tight. I never, ever want to let her go.

“
There, there, my dear child,” she coos, patting my back. “You’re safe now. You’re home.”

The dam breaks, and the tears flood from my eyes. I’m so overcome with emotion, I can’t even begin to process what just happened. All I can do is shake my head, unable to speak.

“
Come, sit.” Tatiana urges me over to the couch, and I feel the familiar softness creak beneath me. I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath, and when I look up, Corrine, Vincent, and Demetri are all staring at me.

“
How did you know?” I ask, looking at Vincent. “How did you know to bring me here?”

He shakes his head in complete amazement. “This wasn’t me… this was all you.”

“
What do you mean, ‘all me’?”

“
You did this… you sent us here.”

“
What? How?”

He shakes his head again and shrugs his shoulders. “I’m still trying to figure that part out myself… that and a lot of other things.” He turns a chair around and straddles it, facing me.

Corrine comes and sits next to me, and Demetri leans against the wall behind Vincent.

Demetri’s mouth is tense. “Are we safe here?”

“
Light-angels surround the outer perimeter of my lands, but we are buried under many layers of enchantment,” Tattie replies. “But so was my sister’s house. What happened? What went wrong?”

I let out a short laugh and brush my hair from my face. My hands are caked with dirt and blood. “Where do I begin?” I shake my head, unable to make sense of everything that’s just happened. It’s all just so…
surreal
.

“
Are you hurt?” she asks softly.

I actually have to consider that a moment.

“
No,” I finally whisper. Then she looks at the others. Even though we look like we’ve been hit with Mack trucks and tossed off a cliff, they all shake their heads as well.

I turn to Tatiana and bury my face in my hands. “They’re dead! I killed them!”

“
What?”

I lift my bloody, tearstained face. “The Amazèa. I killed them with my own two hands.” I hold my palms up for her to see. “And I had all these crazy powers… Lucky was there, and something else. Maybe the babies, I don’t know. It’s like I was possessed… but I wasn’t! I was in control. Me. And I killed them. The Amazèa are dead now.” I take a deep breath and look at my trembling hands.

“
But nothing has changed!” I continue in a hoarse whisper. “I don’t feel any different. Not relieved, not satisfied… not whole! I’m still not
me
! I killed the Amazèa but I’m just as cursed as ever!”

“
We were never positive that killing them would lift your curse,” Tatiana reminds me gently.

“
So now what? All that for nothing? I’m still a target. We’re still not safe. Light-angels are circling as we speak—”

“
I’m sorry to interrupt, but
something
has changed, right?” Corrine asks. “I mean, Liora has all these crazy powers now! You should’ve seen her back there. I mean, it’s like she was this warrior goddess!”

Tatiana gets an odd glint in her opaque eyes. “Well, yes, it is true that something has changed. Liora is indeed quite strong and had access to powers that were previously hidden from her. But…” Her mouth turns up in a playful grin, and we all look at her expectantly.

“
But what?” I ask.

“
Well… I may have helped you out a bit. Actually it was a duel effort between Anastasia and myself. It was quite fun, I must admit. We haven’t done a tandem spell in decades.”

“
A
what
?”

She nods. “I heard you calling for me. Well, Lucky was anyways. I knew you were in trouble, but I couldn’t find you. I knew that if anyone would be able to see where you were, it would be Ana. And even though she was unable to locate your exact position due to the heavy dark magic clouding it, we were able to combine some of our powers and channel them to you.”

I look at her, and slowly I begin to understand. “So all those crazy powers and magical fighting… that was you?”

She shakes her head. “No, dear. That was
you
. Well, you, Lucky, and the babies. And make no mistake, they are extremely powerful indeed. We just helped you access those powers and manifest your will.”

“
Like making the invisible shield around us and turning the rope into razor wire,” I murmur.

She nods. “Among other things. I was actually quite impressed to see your manifestations. Those take great mental discipline to execute, even with our help.”

“
So you were there all along… you and Anastasia.”

She smiles. “I said I will always be here for you, and I meant it. I’m always here, no matter how far away you are. I’m always
here
.” She places her withered hand on my heart.

“
Can’t we stay with you? Can’t we make the Light-angels leave somehow?”

Tatiana shakes her head. “My magic is strong, but you know the best I can hope to do is keep them at bay. My sister is far better suited to caring for you under the present circumstances than I am. She knows more about your condition, and her protected lands are vastly superior to these—”

“
Then come with us!” I clutch her hand again and plead with my eyes.

But she shakes her head again. “My home is here. You know that.”

I bury my face in my hands again. “So nothing has changed,” I whisper. “I’m still a target, even with these borrowed powers.” Why does it feel like anytime I take a step forward, I take two steps back?

“
So my choices are… spend the rest of my demonic pregnancy battling Light-angels with my sometime powers, or what? Keep hiding? Forever?” My eyes fill with tears, and Corrine places her hand on mine and gives it a gentle squeeze.

But those aren’t my only choices, and I know it.

“
Magic holds many mysteries and few guarantees,” Tatiana murmurs. “Sometimes the strongest forces come from the most surprising sources.”

“
You sound like a supernatural Dr. Seuss,” I grumble.

She shakes her head. “I just marvel at your strength.”

I look at her, confused. “No, you’re wrong. Whatever that was, it wasn’t me. I’m still the weak one, the powerless one. I’m just the temporary vessel.”

“
Your powers dwarf mine. One day you’ll realize that the only magic you need is already within yourself.”

“
Tat… I love you. You know I do. But you’re talking crazy. If that were true, don’t you think I would’ve gotten rid of this stupid god-awful curse by now? You think I
like
being like this? It’s hell! I even killed the Amazèa with my own two hands and it didn’t do anything! The curse still stands. So I know for a fact – I can’t undo it!”

“
Then you won’t.”

I try to keep my frustration in check. Sometimes she talks in riddles I don’t quite understand. It used to irritate me to no end, but now I accept it as just her way. She tells me what she can and leaves the rest for me to figure out. It’s a weird dance and one that I don’t always appreciate. But I’ve gotten used to it. And now she’s gotten it into her head that I can do anything I want.

Well, she’s wrong.
Obviously.

“
It’s nearing transition time. You should probably leave before Lucky arrives. I think it’s best for her to wake at my sister’s to avoid a scene or unnecessary upset.”

I sniff quietly and wipe my eyes. I want more time here… more time with Tatiana. What if it’s the last time I’ll see her?

But I know I must go.

I wrap my arms around her in a gentle embrace. “I miss you every single day, do you know that? I don’t care that it’s only been a few weeks. My life isn’t as good without you in it.”

“
I will always be here for you.”

I nod and give her a kiss on her velvety cheek. “I’m going now, but I’ll be back. One day soon this will all be over, and I’ll be here where I belong.” Somehow, some way…

She nods. “I have no doubt.”

Corrine and I stand and walk over to Vincent. He takes our hands in his, and Demetri rests his hand on Vincent’s shoulder.

The last thing I see is Tatiana’s bittersweet smile as she wipes her tears.

Chapter 33. Liora

In a flash we’re standing on the cliffs just outside Anastasia’s guesthouse. The sun is low on the horizon, but not as low as it was at Tatiana’s. At least I’d bought myself a little time by traveling west a few time zones.

Vincent lets go of Corrine and me and turns toward the ocean. He’s been so quiet through all this, and I’m dying to know what’s going on in his head.

“
I’m going to go on in and get cleaned up,” Corrine says.

“
Yeah, me too,” Demetri agrees. They both hesitate a moment, then head on toward the house.

Considering nearly every inch of me is covered with dried blood and dirt, I should probably go do the same. But instead I walk over to Vincent and we stand for several long moments in silence, watching the water roll endlessly onto the sandy white shore.

“
I want to thank you for everything you did,” I finally say. “For coming to our rescue –helping us.”

He shakes his head, still staring out at the churning ocean. “You don’t have to thank me. What you did… it was nothing short of amazing. It was awesome. I’m just happy I was able to help out some, and I wasn’t too late.”