Of Water and Madness (28 page)

The older man nodded, his mouth set in a firm and unwavering line as he patted Liam’s shoulder, urging the younger man to look him in the eye. “There was never going to be anyone else for her, Liam. Even though she pretended otherwise, she was destroyed without you. I need you to promise me that when we get her back that you won’t let that happen again.”

“That’s the easiest promise I’ve ever had to make.” Liam held out his hand, shaking Rohan’s firmly. “If it’s alright with you, when this is all over I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

Rohan froze, blinking once with shock. He took a deep breath, his troubled eyes on Liam’s determined ones. He nodded once, and finished the handshake with a heavy sigh. “Then you have my blessing.”

Liam bowed his head gratefully. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you, or her, down.”

“See that you don’t.” Rohan attempted a small smile, even as the anxiety built up within him again as he steered Liam toward the others, who had begun to cross the street.

It was five minutes till eight.

Times Square on
a Saturday night was a hubbub of frantic activity. Not only was it a center for tourists, locals, and everyone in between to mingle and seek excitement and entertainment, but it was also the self proclaimed crossroads of the world. People of all shapes and sizes rushed around the Square, teeming through the streets in giant waves while the lights dazzled overhead. Booming music, chattering voices, laughter, car horns and screeching tires could be heard all at once, along with the smell of asphalt, sweat, perfume, roasting food, and the overall sizzle of vibrant city life in high summer.

Liam made his way to the head of the pack, trying to keep his family from getting too separated by the crowd. But the problem was that there were just so many people…it was almost impossible to maneuver without getting jostled and shuffled away from the group.

Over the heads of the humans around them, he could see Thea and Jax and a few others who were tall enough to be seen, and he saw irritation and concern about the hoards of humans on their faces as well. Jax kept glancing down at his scanner, checking for demons in their midst. But from his disconcerted look, he was coming up with nothing.

This could prove to be a serious problem. How could they be expected to fight, if necessary, amongst the throngs of innocent bystanders? But maybe, as he had earlier assumed, this was Dante’s intention all along.

He knew that there were Enforcers among them, dressed in civilian wear and remaining casually vigilant. He glanced up at the towering buildings that surrounded them, only to be blinded by the flashing neon lights of the numerous electronic billboards. But somewhere up there, snipers were standing by, ready to intervene if things got out of control.

If Dante was going to bring out his monsters here, in the middle of the busy Square, then he was in for a nasty surprise. Whatever he unleashed would be taken out with bullets from the sky, anonymous and lethal.

He glanced anxiously down at his watch, noting they had but one minute left until eight o’clock. Alright, Dante, he thought fiercely. Give us your best shot.

It was then that he looked up into the crowd and saw her.

It was only the back of her head, but he would know her anywhere. His eyes widened as he frantically stumbled forward, shoving violently at whoever was in his way. He heard a few angry cries and grunts as he went, but he didn’t care, couldn’t possibly give a damn. Rhiannon was just ahead, he knew it…

He kept his eyes trained on her, determined not to lose sight of her in the crowd. She was swaying and stumbling, heading away from him but at a much slower pace. He didn’t even think about it, he just knew he had to get to her.

From behind him, he heard Blythe call out his name questioningly, but he didn’t turn around. He was almost there…

He braided through one last cluster of people and reached out for her, grabbing her arm and whirling her around.

She stumbled, her eyes huge, dazed and lost, her face ghostly pale. But it was her.

“Rhia.” He pulled her against him and shuddered, feeling her crumble weakly in his arms. Her breath was ragged and uneven, and her heart was racing against his as she fought to gain some semblance of clarity.

“Where am I?” she croaked, her head falling back as she tried to look up at him, her exhaustion so great she thought she’d wither away at that very moment. But there were strong arms holding her, and a scent she recognized, one she knew so well…her eyes burned with tears that came from both terror and recognition.

When Liam stared into her eyes, his hands gripping her arms to hold her upright, he saw with a jolting shock that her pupils were dilated. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. He was no doctor, but she looked like she had been drugged.

“We have to get you somewhere safe,” he began, watching sickeningly as her head rolled on her shoulders again, the drug weakening her system.

“It was Stella…” she battled back against the haze of the drug and stared him in the eye, gritting her teeth and pulling on whatever energy she had left. She had to tell him… “God, it was Stella.”

“I know, Rhia, I know. But where is Dante?”

She only shook her head, and suddenly there was a static hissing sound coming from above them, sizzling and jolting in the air as one of the giant billboards exploded, raining sparks down on the crowd. People screamed and ducked, and Liam dragged Rhiannon to the ground and shielded her with his body, fear racing down his spine.

If that had been any indication, he’d say it was eight o’clock on the nose. And that meant only one thing…Dante had arrived.

When the last of the sparks had fallen, he grabbed her and pulled her toward the others, knowing they needed to stick together. He reached Rohan first, who gratefully pulled Rhiannon into his arms. Staying with her, Liam turned and met Thea’s eyes. Relief flashed over them as she saw that Rhiannon was with him, but when a few more of the surrounding billboards exploded, her attention was diverted.

The music in the Square ended when the billboards died, and all that was left were the frightened and questioning shouts of the hundreds of people in the area, confused by what was happening. The Square was suddenly much darker than it had been before, lit only by street lamps and what little light came from inside the surrounding buildings.

Taxi cabs were forced to stop when people had poured into the streets, evading the falling sparks. Now their horns could be heard over the din of the crowd, but one voice seemed to resonate above all else. And when he heard it, Liam’s eyes shifted and landed on the man himself, and they narrowed with suspicion and intense hatred.

Dante was chuckling as he maneuvered his way through the crowd and appeared before Thea and the others. Because his presence was unnatural and unnerving to the humans, they seemed to part for him, giving him room to stand alone before those of Euphora.

They drew together, standing united as the humans edged out of the way.

Some people were taking pictures, laughing and joking while others were staring fearfully at the strange man, sensing the evil in him. No one could seem to decide if this was just some kind of spontaneous entertainment put on by one of the local theater groups, or the long awaited apocalypse.

“Thea.” Dante grinned, stopping before her and lowering into a gracious bow. He lifted his head as he rose again, his eyes intense on hers. “At last.”

Thea stepped forward, staring down her nose at him in disgust. “I would say that it is nice to see you again, Dante, had the circumstances been more fortunate.”

“And here I was, sincerely looking forward to being reunited with my family,” he replied, gazing around at all of them fondly. “For I am still one of you, am I not?”

Thea’s eyes narrowed bitterly as Sebastian came up beside her, resting his hand on her shoulder supportively. “You have proven yourself unworthy of the Dryad blood that flows in your veins.”

“Ah yes, dirty blood and all that.” Dante smiled again, one eyebrow raised in an expression of pure malice. “But you never even gave me a chance to prove myself worthy, did you?”

Thea bristled, despising herself for knowing it was true. But what did it matter when he was bound to have been evil regardless? “You have never belonged on Euphora, Dante. The Dryad in you does not cancel out the demon.”

“Instead it makes me stronger, better.” He preened, motioning to the expensive black pinstriped suit he wore, complete with blood red tie, as if it showcased his class and power. “I am the only one of my kind in existence; I stand alone, without anyone in this world. And yet all of you fear me…why do you think that is, Thea?”

“Fear is an odd word,” Thea began, looking forward to wiping the arrogant smirk off his face. “Generally, we fear the unknown, or the things we do not understand. But I understand you perfectly, Dante. And therefore I do not fear you. I only pity you.”

Fury flashed over his face as he sneered at her, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. She had hit the mark. “Even if you do not fear me, surely you must fear what I am capable of…”

His sneer twisted into an evil grin as he started laughing, sensing her uneasiness. Oh, he could hit a mark with her, too. “On several occasions, including most recently, I have had the opportunity to kill members of your precious little family. And I took advantage of the opportunity, twice…” He shifted closer to her, until he was but a foot away, his eyes honing in on her own. “Or have you forgotten the human and your beloved Head Fury?

He saw her resolve falter as remorse, shame and misery sent a shockwave through to her very soul. How could she forget about Heidi and Roarke?

“And it’s been all too easy for me to manipulate those among you…I hear Balgaire is dead but Nyxa isn’t. Funny to see her here now, ready to fight against me when I had so graciously assisted her in her bitter revenge plot only a few months ago…”

Nyxa snarled and started forward, only to have Brock grab her and hold her back, his eyes on fire. His hands itched for his weapon, but he refrained, remembering Rian’s warning.

“Ah, and my older brother. How lovely to see you, Brock.” Dante beamed as he stepped toward him, his eyes glittering cruelly. He paused before Brock, scratching his chin thoughtfully and frowning. “You know, I really don’t see the family resemblance. Your vices have destroyed you, brother.”

Brock’s eyes flashed heatedly as his hands clenched into fists. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now, you sick son of a bitch.”

With a derisive snort, Dante waved the comment away and chuckled. “What? And let countless humans perish when everything I’ve set in motion occurs? Tsk, tsk.”

“You’ve given me back my Dryad, Dante. Now give me one reason why I shouldn’t have my snipers shoot you right this moment,” Thea called out, causing him to turn back around and face her. 

“Your fancy guns and Enforcers don’t mean shit, Thea,” Dante spat, rounding on her. “I have something you don’t– not anymore, anyway. Ah, and here she is.”

Vivica appeared from the crowd, strutting forward to Dante’s side.  His arm slid cozily around her as he grinned at Thea. “You remember Vivica?”

“Her appearance has changed, but yes, I remember.” Thea stared bitterly at the woman who had called herself Stella…the woman who had manipulated her way onto Euphora and nearly destroyed everything.

“Yes, isn’t she beautiful? I had to secure her a body when I released her from Hell. This poor girl was a runaway from Houston. Amusing, isn’t it that humans are sometimes of such great use to us?”