Of Water and Madness (35 page)

“You shouldn’t have made it so easy, darling.” He chuckled, pulling his pistol from the holster under his suit jacket, his eyes shining with madness.

But before anything could happen, a glowing ball of bright white light appeared between them, growing in size before flashing blindingly. They all cowered away from it, not understanding what was happening, as Thea suddenly appeared. The light faded, but she remained glowing…

Liam and Rhiannon gawked at her, unsure if it was really Thea they were seeing, or some kind of glorious mirage. While she looked like Thea, there was something much more to her, something more powerful, more ethereal and bright, as if she had been forged from the Earth itself and glowed with absolute power. Her hair appeared to billow around her despite the eerie lack of a breeze, and her dark eyes glittered against a face that shimmered like golden dust. The skirt of her dress flowed as though she were immersed in water, and when she spoke, her voice resonated through to their very bones, as if echoing through every cell in their bodies.

“This ends now,” she bellowed, her eyes honing in on both Vivica and Dante, who cowered before her, stunned to silence by the very presence of her.

They both suddenly realized they were no longer dealing with Thea…they were now confronted with Mother Earth herself.

She went to Vivica first, her hand suddenly reaching out to grasp the woman by the throat as she lifted her from the ground, her eyes filled with terror as Thea cut off her breath. She gasped desperately for air, pawing at Thea’s iron grip uselessly as her legs flailed and kicked beneath her. Thea smiled and loosened her hold just enough so Vivica could breathe, but not enough for her to struggle free.

Before Liam or Rhiannon could stop him, Dante pulled his revolver and fired a demon bullet directly at Thea, where it exploded against her side in a burst of fiery flames. She barely flinched, however, and merely stared down at the fire as though it was nothing but an insignificant nuisance.

With her free hand, she brushed at the flames, instantly extinguishing them. A black burn mark and the bullet embedded in her side remained, but she felt no pain. Her body was filled with an undeniable power and she was virtually indestructible. Dante’s petty demon bullets could do her no harm.

Her eyes shot over to meet Dante’s stunned ones as her free hand reached out and pointed to him. Glowing golden ropes shot from her palm and circled around him like rapid fire, binding his arms against his body as he fell pitifully to his knees. The ropes continued to wind around him until he couldn’t move, leaving only his shoulders, head, and lower legs exposed.

He glared at her when she finished, but along with the loathing was also a kind of eerie possessiveness, as if he rejoiced in the fact that she was here, in his presence. His eyes were glued to her, visually lapping up every detail, absorbing her into his memory.

“I’ll get to you next, Dante. And don’t think about transforming, as you won’t be able to now.” Thea tilted her head and eyed him sternly, the power coursing through her body in rushing waves. Turning back to Vivica, her lips curled into a cruel snarl, her anger sparking. “I’m going to destroy you, Vivica. I have no other choice.”

Vivica let out a manic laugh, straining against Thea’s hold on her throat. “You can’t kill me, Thea. I’m one of your creations. I’m a Muse. Or did you forget?”

One of Thea’s dark eyebrows raised as she glared down at the woman. “What you seem to forget is that you died, Vivica, and were reconstructed and altered in the Underworld. You are no longer one of my creatures, but instead a dark creation of Hell. Therefore, it will be my pleasure to destroy you.”

Vivica’s face went ghostly white as her eyes widened fearfully. “P-please, Thea, don’t do this…”

“Why shouldn’t I? You have proven yourself incapable of being anything more than destructive and evil. The world would be a better place without you in it.”

“He tricked me,” Vivica panted, her eyes darting over to Dante, who was still staring at Thea, mesmerized. “He used me, Thea…he fooled me into doing all of this. I was weak at heart; I always have been. You remember that.”

“If I don’t destroy you, then what do you propose I do with you?” Thea asked inquisitively.

“Show mercy, Thea, please…” Vivica begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Thea released Vivica, letting her drop to her knees and rub her aching throat, her chest shaking as she sobbed uncontrollably. Liam and Rhiannon watched with wide eyes as Thea held her hands out, palms spread, over Vivica’s head.

“Lucky for you, destroying you does not mean killing you, Vivica,” Thea said, inhaling deeply and gathering the power within her, focusing it on the task at hand. “But rather, destroying what’s left of the Muse in your blood and banishing the evil from your body, leaving you nothing more than a human. Consider it my one last gift to you.”

“Thank you, Thea, t-thank you,” Vivica stammered, still sobbing as Thea’s hands hovered over the crown of her head.

“When you awaken, you’ll know nothing of who you were. Goodbye, Vivica.”

Thin tendrils of white light seeped from the palms of Thea’s hands, swirling through the air to wrap around Vivica’s head. They snaked across her skin, spiraling around her to enclose her in a glowing white cocoon. Thea’s head fell back as the power trembled inside of her, her lips parting as she released a smooth, contented breath. Within seconds, Vivica’s entire body was wrapped in the cocoon and she ceased to move inside, as if she had tumbled into a deep slumber.

Suddenly, black smoke began to seep from between the threads of white light, dripping down to fall on the ground and disappear into the soil. The cocoon trembled once as the last of the darkness released itself from Vivica, and then the cocoon began to fade away.

Thea kneeled down and cradled Vivica’s seemingly lifeless body tenderly in her arms, like a mother would with a child. She inhaled deeply, calmly, and when she exhaled, Vivica vanished from her arms, fading into nothingness.

For a moment, Thea was still while she sat on the ground, her hands on her knees and her eyes closed. Her body continued to exude a shimmering glow as the power inside of her settled and calmed.

The first task was done.

Her eyes flew open and she got to her feet gracefully, suddenly gliding toward Dante as if she were cruising through smooth, glassy water. Her dark eyes flashed dangerously as she cupped his face in her hands, noting the way his amber eyes filled with longing and fury all at once.

She stared at him for a moment, thinking of all the things he had done, all of the horrors he had caused…and how the pity she felt for him overshadowed nearly all of the anger. Certainly, he had killed members of her family, and he had terrorized others and wreaked enough havoc for an entire century. But he was only a man, honed by a lifetime of rejection, confusion, and resentment over what he was. He hadn’t asked to be born to a Dryad mother and a demon father…but here he was regardless.

However, that was where her pity ended for him. She believed in personal responsibility and choices, and he had done nothing but make all of the wrong ones. He used his hatred and his obsession to strike fear into the heart of everyone she loved. But all of that was going to stop now, and she relished in knowing the end was finally here.

“Dante…” she murmured, leaning in toward his face, her dark eyes holding his, searching. He seemed to freeze, never having been so close to her before, the power she resonated shuddering through to his very core. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her, to simply touch her skin and know what she felt like. His eyes widened with madness as he struggled against his bonds, but she simply backed away, leaving him wanting.

“
Damn you!
” he screamed, gnashing his teeth as he tried to inch toward her.

She shook her head, her face stern and serious as she continued to stare at him. “Unlike Vivica, I cannot kill you. But also unlike Vivica, I will not be showing you mercy,” she began, turning to look at Liam and Rhiannon, who were hovering nearby, frozen in place and stunned. “Come closer, please.”

Without hesitation, they both moved toward her, just as drawn to her as Dante was. Mother Earth was at the heart of everything, and the power she was radiating seemed to transfer into their own blood and simmer there, building up and making them fuller, stronger…

“For this, we will need the other two Dryads, as well,” Thea declared, turning from them and walking toward the cliff’s edge, where down below she could see the rest of her family, finishing the battle.

On the ground, Blythe stood beside Jax. Her pistol was clutched in her hands as she shot a round into the last demon, enjoying the shimmer of glassy dust as it exploded into pieces. Finally…it was over.

“We make a good team, cowboy.” She grinned up at Jax, pulling him down by the collar of his shirt so she could kiss him. In response, he tugged her against him and deepened the kiss, his emotions ranging from thrilled to exhausted to relieved, coupled with immense pride at seeing his girl kick so much ass.

He broke the kiss and smiled back at her, his green eyes darkening with a rushing intensity. “There is nothing sexier than watching you kill demons, darlin’.”

She snorted out a laugh, enormously pleased. “Maybe we should go hunt down some more, then.”

“We have all the time in the world for that.” Jax pulled her against him again, pressing a firm kiss to her forehead.

“We do?” Blythe asked shakily, blinking back her confusion as she struggled to find the meaning behind his words. She looked up at him, and suddenly realized he looked just as startled as she was by what he had said.

“I…” he began, his brow furrowing as he tried to find the words to say. Damnit, he knew what he really wanted…

“Is that your weird way of asking me to marry you?” Blythe managed, her eyes wide as she stared up at him, her system rocked by a sudden, stunning emotion.

But before he could respond, panic filled his eyes as he noticed she was starting to quite literally fade away. “Blythe, what the–?”

She stared down at her hands, and the fact that she could suddenly see through them had her mouth falling open and her eyes bulging.

With a frantic look at Jax, she felt the world around her going dark. She called out his name as everything suddenly went to blackness.

Several yards away, Capri was standing with Rian, Brock and Rohan, the dragon dead at their feet. Its body was charred and burnt to a crisp, and tightly bound to the ground by thick, thorny vines. Capri wrapped her arm around Rian as she watched Brock and Rohan for the first time in over twenty years actually smile and laugh with each other.

“I still can’t believe that worked,” Rohan said, patting Brock’s back and letting out a shaky laugh.

Brock grinned in return, positively beaming. “Couldn’t have done it without you, buddy. Trapping it with those vines was a great idea.”

“You would have just kept tossing fire at it while it flew out of reach.” Rohan chuckled, surprised when Brock let out a hoot of laughter.

“Yeah, but without my fire, you would have just grown a couple of plants and prayed the beast had allergies.”

Rohan laughed so hard he had to grip Brock’s shoulder to keep from toppling over, and the two men enjoyed the friendship they had long ago forsaken.

Serendipity and Nyxa approached, huddled together, eyes wide with curiosity and caution. They weren’t sure what to make of Brock and Rohan’s sudden friendliness, and weren’t sure if it was something that was only temporary, or perhaps for good…