Destiny Redeemed (27 page)

The
councilman let out a sinister laugh. “Of course. What was I thinking?” Looking
around, he asked, “Where are your usual girls? I was hoping to see the one I
had last time.”

“Nope.
She’s the one I got rid of today.”

Not
trying to conceal the anger in his voice, the councilman said, “Even though you
knew I was coming?”

Kiril
saw that he’d made a serious mistake and quickly added, “I have two others I
keep and dozens I could have here in a matter of minutes. Just tell me what you
want.”

As
he saw the other man walk back toward Thea, he knew exactly what he wanted.
Hurrying to catch up to him, he continued, “Suzanne was a brunette. I can have
one just like her here whenever your want. Do you want me to get one now? All
it takes is a phone call.”

All
he could do was watch as the councilman walked up to where Thea sat and stood over
her grinning. “C...Councilman...” he stammered. “She’s Aeveren.”

Kiril
saw the councilman’s grin grow even wider. “I know exactly what and who she is,
Kiril.”

“Come
with me, Thea. I’d like to spend some time with you.”

*

Thea
took his hand and rose from the seat, so nervous she felt her legs might give
out at any moment. She had no idea where the head councilman from Nil was
taking her, but the look on Kiril’s face told her everything about what he
intended to do with her.

“Kiril,
I’m going to use my usual room. And I don’t want to be disturbed.”

Thea
walked with the man she hated as much as Kiril to a bedroom close to the room
she’d been in with Suzanne and the others. As he closed the door behind her,
she waited for the horror to begin, understanding now why he’d chosen to
disrespect Aeveren ethics once again.

“You
can do whatever you want to me, just like Kiril, but it won’t change anything.
I am Amon’s destined one. I love him and belong with him. What you’re about to
do is against everything we are. How can you do this?”

“I
have no intention of raping you, dear. What am I? A pig like Kiril? No. I did
that to punish him for doing something against my wishes.”

The
councilman sat on the bed and motioned for Thea to sit in a nearby chair. When
she had, he began talking to her almost as a father would to a daughter.

“I’d
like to tell you a story, Thea, and I’d like you to pay very careful attention.
Unlike you, I’m a relatively young Aeveren not even in my thirtieth lifetime.
Until my twenty-fifth lifetime, I’d lived as other Aeveren had, meeting my
destined one in my fifteenth lifetime and dealing with the everyday joys and
sorrows of life.”

Thea
watched as he breathed deeply before continuing, as if the next part of his
story was far more important.

“We
were happy—as happy as anyone else. We’d lived through bad times and good, and
by my twenty-fifth lifetime, I was fortunate enough to be part of the English
landed gentry. We had a beautiful little girl, and life was good.”

“Sir,
I’ve heard enough stories like this one to know something happened. But what
does this have to do with me?”

“Thea,
I’ve read your history. What happened in your thirteenth lifetime?”

Memories
that had been buried for lifetimes flooded her mind. “No, please don’t do
this.”

“You
were a healer, as you are now, in a small village near Rome.”

“Please
don’t do this. You have no right to know my past.”

“I’m
doing this for your own good, dear. What happened?”

Thea
buried her face in her hands. She hadn’t thought about anything of that
lifetime in so long. She’d worked so hard to forget everything she’d suffered.
Now it was back, a memory as fresh as if it had happened only a lifetime ago.

“He
killed me.”

“Who,
Thea? Who killed you?”

“My
lover. I’d been with a man who was married to someone who wasn’t his destined
one, and I’d let him convince me that we weren’t wrong to see each other,” she
cried.

“And
why did he murder you?”

Thea
began to sob remembering the moment she’d realized the man she’d loved planned
to leave her. “I was pregnant with his child. He said he couldn’t hurt his wife
that way.”

The
councilman sat silently as Thea struggled to continue. “He was furious at what
had brought me such happiness and told me I had to get rid of it. Get rid of
our child! When I refused, he told me he was leaving me and never wanted to see
me again. But I loved him! I couldn’t just let him go. I was having his child.”

Shaking,
she remembered the last time she saw him, the last day of her thirteenth
lifetime. “Why are you doing this? Why would you want me to remember this?”

“Because
it’s important to your future, dear Thea.”

Confused,
she shook her head in disbelief. “How can causing me to remember one of the
most painful memories of my existence help me?”

“What
happened, Thea?”

“He
murdered me! He pretended he wanted to reconcile with me and had me meet him in
a secluded spot. After professing his love and his apologies for his behavior,
he took out a piece of cloth and held it to my face. As I scratched and clawed
to get away from him, he smothered me! He killed me and the child he didn’t
want!”

Thea
wept uncontrollably as she said the words she hadn’t spoken in more than twenty
lifetimes. The painful memory hurt as much as it had all those lifetimes ago
when she’d realized how she’d died in her thirteenth lifetime.

“Why
would you do this to me?” she asked as she wiped the tears from her face.

As
if he hadn’t been affected by her story, he continued what he’d begun earlier.
“What do you know of your destined one?”

Defiantly,
she answered, “I know he loves me.”

“Yes,
I’m sure.”

“I
know what you’re going to say. Amon’s done some awful things. I know. He told
me. But that’s not the man I know.”

Rising
from the bed, the councilman walked past Thea to stand near the wall. “So Amon
Kalins has become a new man since last year when he manipulated time and took a
woman away from the man he knew to be her destined one?”

Thea
sat silently not knowing what to say.

“Or
he’s become a new man since he was very much like our friend Kiril fucking
enslaved human females?”

Thea
couldn’t control the shock at hearing this accusation and knew her face showed
it.

“I
guess he didn’t tell you about that, or did he deny it?”

“Amon
wouldn’t do that! He’s not like Kiril!”

“Maybe
you’re right, but I’ve never seen anyone who associates with Kiril Gault who
didn’t take part in his particular brand of entertainment.”

“No....no,”
she muttered sadly, wishing more than anything else in the world at that moment
to not hear anything more the councilman had to say about the man she loved.

“Perhaps
he’s become a new man since he abandoned a young woman foolish enough to get
involved with him, a woman who then took her own life, leaving her child and
husband behind?”

Thea
shook her head violently, unable to listen anymore. “No! Stop this!”

The
councilman folded his arms across his chest. “This woman loved her husband
dearly. A devoted wife and mother, she was too innocent to realize what your
destined one was before it was too late. He used his powers to manipulate
her—to make her fall in love with him and steal her away from her loving
husband and destined one, just like he did last year.”

“You’re
wrong. He wouldn’t hurt someone he loved.”

“And
when he was done with her, he left her alone, shunned by society and with no
one to take care of her, she took her own life.”

Thea
sat dumbstruck as he finished, unwilling to believe the man she loved in Amon
could do the things she’d heard. Amon had said he’d done some terrible things
in his past, but she couldn’t bring herself to accept what the councilman had
told her.

As
she struggled to keep her faith in Amon, Thea sensed him nearby. He’d come for
her! But he was walking into a trap with Kiril and the councilman waiting for
him. She had to help him. No matter who he’d been or what he’d done, he was her
destined one.

Just
as she opened her mouth to yell, Kiril burst into the room. “He’s here! My men
spotted him in one of the lower corridors.”

Turning
toward Thea, the councilman warned, “Behave yourself, dear, and you might just
get to hear your beloved himself admit to his crimes.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Amon,
Markku, and Gethen quietly made their way through the lower level of the Soren
headquarters building prepared to kill those who just a week ago they’d counted
as friends. Amon was relying on Markku’s magick to help them since his own
powers were rendered useless by Kiril’s magickians and their enchantments that
safeguarded the Soren members from anyone looking to infiltrate the
organization. Already Markku had proven himself invaluable by getting them
inside the building. Now Amon needed him to pinpoint where Kiril was holding
Thea.

Each
step brought him closer to her; at least that’s what he tried to convince
himself of. He couldn’t think about what Kiril might have done to her without
becoming blinded by rage, so he chose instead to concentrate simply on finding
her. After that, he‘d let his wrath seek out its victim.

Voices
from a nearby hallway in front of them put them on alert, and all three men
readied their guns at their sides. Backs against the stone wall, they slid
toward the intersection of hallways, ready to kill if they had to.

The
two unarmed guards they came upon never saw them, and with a sharp hit to the
back of each one’s head, they had made it past the first hurdle to getting Thea
out safely.

“What
do you want to do with them?” Markku asked as he looked down at the two
unconscious guards.

“Check
them for anything that we can use and then leave them.”

“Amon,
do you sense her anywhere nearby?” Gethen asked as they began down the cross
hallway.

“I
can’t get anything, but hopefully I’ll know when we’re close. I only hope she
can hear me.”

“Markku,
where are we?”

Pointing
to a stairwell at the end of the hallway, he said, “Those stairs go to the main
level.”

“I’m
not feeling good about being trapped in a stairwell. Any other way we can get
upstairs?”

Markku
pointed to a freight elevator. “Feel better about that?”

Amon
shook his head. “No.”

“Then
stairs it is.”

Gethen
grabbed Amon’s sleeve to stop him. “I could rematerialize upstairs and make
sure it’s safe.”

“Are
you feeling better? The last time you did that you looked like hell afterward.”

“And
felt like it, but that was traveling between worlds from Nil. I’m not much of a
Sidhe if I can’t disappear and rematerialize one floor up.”

Turning
to Markku, who was about to enter the stairwell, Amon said, “Hold up. Gethen is
going to check things out while we wait here.”

“Gonna
try a little Sidhe hocus pocus, huh, old man? Sounds good to me.”

Gethen
disappeared before their eyes and the two men waited and watched for more of
Kiril’s guards. When the Sidhe reappeared, he looked pale and troubled.

“He’s
got guards all along the main hallways to the central room where he holds
meetings. But none seem to have any weapons either. We’re going to have to get
through a few sets of them before we can get to Kiril.”

As
Gethen finished, his breathing was labored and he leaned up against the wall to
support himself.

Amon
reached out to touch his shoulder. “No more of that. We’ll find another way to
do this. Understand?”

Nodding,
Gethen took a deep breath. “Amon, he’s got her in the main room. He’s waiting
for you and using her as bait.”

In
a low voice, Amon growled, “That’s just another fucking reason I’m going to
kill him.”

“Okay,
guys. We need to get upstairs if we expect to get your lady out of here. No
time like the present.”

“Let’s
go. Markku, you take the rear. Gethen, stay near me. And this time we might not
be able to get past them by just knocking them out. Sorry, Markku. I hope none
of these guys are your friends.”

“No
need to be sorry. They cut me out like cancer at a moment’s notice. Kill ‘em
all.”

As
they climbed the stairs to the floor above, Amon and Gethen turned to see
Markku stopped on the landing and mumbling something. As he joined them and
they hit the top of the stairs, they heard a series of successive thuds. Once
the noise had stopped, Amon opened the heavy metal door and looked up and down
the hallway. In both directions, the floor was littered with the bodies of
unconscious guards.

Looking
back, Amon smiled at Markku.

“I’m
a lover, not a killer. That back there was just bravado. I’m surprised as shit
that it worked, though. But it’s only for a short time, big guy, so you can
thank me later when we’re all back at the house and I’m enjoying some whiskey.”

All
three stepped out into the hallway and walked to the main room. They were walking
into an ambush, but they had little choice.

Amon
braced himself as he grabbed the handle to the door. Just days earlier, he’d
come here with Thea and the men who stood behind him now to seek help from the
Soren. Now he hoped what lay behind the door didn’t break his heart.

The
three stepped in not knowing what to expect, but what they saw was even more
shocking than anything they could’ve imagined. On the dais sat Thea in Kiril’s
chair and behind her stood the head of the Council at Nil. To their right, lay
Kiril, unconscious on the ground.

“Come
in, gentlemen. Come in. And my compliments to you, magickian. Whatever you did
affected even your leader. That’s some talent you possess.”