Only in Her Dreams (31 page)

Alexander rose quickly, bringing Guy with him. The agile way he moved belied his years of heavy drug use. Darius had chosen wisely when he selected Alexander to join him on Earth.

He watched helplessly as the blade pierced his neck. Failure flowed through his veins once again. Maxim couldn’t make eye contact with Guy, afraid of what he’d see there. Disappointment, anger, guilt...all these emotions filled his being and he could only imagine the emotions coursing through Guy. If they lost this battle, they wouldn’t only doom all of Erebos, but also leave Marie and Lucessa completely vulnerable and unprotected.

He would not let that happen.

Feet approached on the hard packed dirt outside and heavy panting caught his attention.
Had Lucessa and Marie come back to try and be heroes?
He couldn’t turn around to warn them before it was too late.

A growl emanated through the doorway and echoed off the walls. In the next instant, Maxim flew against the couch and a howl of pain sounded from Darius. He pushed himself off the couch--ready for the fight--but Goosey had Darius’s wrist in his mouth and shook it wildly, back and forth. Blood dripped from the puncture wounds.

Darius lost his grip on the knife and it slid across the room, ironically joining the gun under Lucessa’s chair.

With Goosey handling Darius, Maxim turned to help Guy. The men were in mid-wrestle behind the couch, neither aware of Darius’s struggle.

Maxim bent down and heaved Alexander off Guy, throwing him head first into the wall next to the fireplace. The board, where he hit, split in two allowing the early dawn to seep through the hole.

Guy rose to his feet. A gash covered the knuckles on his right hand, but other than that he looked whole.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Guy said as he faced Darius.

Goosey still kept her death grip on his arm.

“You might as well kill me now...I’m dead if I fail
him
.” Darius’s face contorted in pain.

# # #

Lucessa and Marie crouched behind Alexander’s car watching the scene inside the house, helpless until a few moments before. When they’d reached the car Guy had arrived in, Goosey sat inside. Lucessa opened the car door and Goosey took off toward Maxim and the man holding a knife to his throat. They watched the dog latch onto Darius’ arm, whipping her head from side to side.

When Goosey attacked, Lucessa lost sight of Maxim.

“NOOOO!” Maxim screamed.

POP! POP! POP!

The loud noise echoed in the night. From inside, Goosey yelped in pain. Without another thought, her feet carried her toward the door and closer to Goosey and Maxim.
My family!

The closer she moved to the shack, the more she could see inside the large room. Darius lay prone in the doorway, unmoving. Goosey limped toward her, a thin trail of crimson blood oozed behind her. Lucessa stepped over Darius, and scooped Goosey into her arms. She moved toward the couch.

“Maxim!” she called as she set Goosey down. Her eyes searched the room as fear coursed through her. Sandy stepped away from the wall in Darius’ direction as Greg hugged the wall. She didn’t see Maxim, but her father--she was still getting use to the idea he was there--rushed to her side and pulled off his shirt. “Where’s Maxim?”

“Behind the couch, go to him. I’ll have a look at your dog.” As she hurried around the couch, her father pressed his balled up shirt to Goosey’s wound on her hind leg.

She rounded the sofa. Maxim sat with his back against the couch, his hand grasping his shoulder. Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped down his hand and into his lap.

His eyes traveled up her legs, her body, and eventually met her gaze. Lucessa’s legs weakened and she lowered to the floor next to him, cautiously moving his fingers from the wound to examine the severity.

His bloody hand swatted her fingers away from the hole in his shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Where’s Marie?”

“You always worry about others. She followed me in after we heard the loud pops.” She attempted to soothe his apprehension. “What the hell was that? How did you get hurt? Did someone shoot you?” The questions kept coming; she was unable to control the words. Tears ran unbidden down her face. The stress of the past several days overwhelmed her all at once. Her body sagged in exhaustion.

Maxim’s uninjured arm moved around her shoulder and rubbed a soothing pattern up and down her arm. Maxim only cared about comforting her--making sure she was unharmed.
How was I ever scared of this man?

“Brother, are you well over there?” Guy called from the other side of the couch.

Maxim withdrew his arm from around her shoulders and attempted to stand, his legs quivering under him.

Cold settled on Lucessa’s body without his protective arm.

“Let me help you,” she offered. She stood quickly, before he decided to stand on his own. With her help, and the back of the couch, he hoisted himself off the floor and they turned toward her father’s voice. “Father, will she be okay?” Her eyes traveled to Goosey, lying on the couch.

“She’ll be just fine. I think Darius got the worst of it, the bullet just grazed Goosey’s leg.” Her father kneeled by Goosey, tying a strip of his shirt around the cut in the dog’s leg. Her mother wasn’t far away, her hand stroking the dog. Lucessa could hear the softly murmured words spoken into her dog’s ear.

Relief flooded her body and she turned in to Maxim’s outstretched arms.

She had so many questions, but right now she wanted to get out of this place, patch up Maxim and Goosey. Most of all, Lucessa wanted to talk to her father...and to her mother, for that matter. They had a lot of explaining to do.

# # #

Maxim hugged Lucessa to him, her body molding to fit his own. It
felt
right, something he’d never felt before and never expected to feel in the future.

“Maxim,” she whispered in alarm. “Look!”

At the unease in her voice, Maxim whipped around to face the doorway. Darius still lay motionless on the floor but now Alexander kneeled next to him attempting to staunch the flow of blood from his gut.

“It’s what he wanted...it’s what he wanted,” Alexander muttered over and over.

“Leave him, Alexander!” Guy’s voice boomed from the couch.

“But...my Master needs me,” Alexander turned pleading eyes toward Guy. When he saw no sympathy coming from that direction his eyes shifted in Maxim’s direction.

Maxim knew, no matter what his brother did, he’d always try to help him. To save him! He couldn’t turn his back on him. He released Lucessa, the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, and moved to Alexander’s side.

“Be careful, brother.”

“Brother mine, I cannot walk away from him.” Maxim ignored Guy’s warning and leaned over his twin, placing two fingers against his neck, where a pulse should be. But his life force was quiet. Darius’s blood no longer flowed through his veins, but spread across the rough wooden floor. Maxim rose and shook his head.

A sob echoed across the room. Sandy stumbled toward Maxim. Instead of stopping at Darius, she continued out the door. As she fled, Maxim saw the tears threatening to spill over.

“He is dead?” Alexander and Lucessa asked at the same time. Both sounded heartbroken, but for completely different reasons.

“Yes, he’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry, Maxim.” Lucessa moved to his side and wrapped her arms around him. She offered him her source of warmth.

I let him down again.
They’d grown apart when Darius was banished--which couldn’t be changed--but they’d been close...once upon a time. His brother had lived the last twenty-two years thinking Maxim had abandoned him, but that simply wasn’t true. His only intent was to save Darius from his inner demons, prevent him from making horrible mistakes that would have consequences for millions. In the end, he’d still fallen prey to his demons.

“It was his choice. I’m sorry for him,” Maxim replied.

Greg took that as his cue to leave. He slipped along the wall, squeezed past Lucessa and Maxim, exiting the shack. Leaving a shattered family in his wake.

“What will happen to me...and the others?” Alexander asked, his eyes cast to the floor.

“You will live out your existence in the world you tried to ruin,” Guy commanded. “There will be no other chances for the lot of you. You will abide by the rules. Or I will be back.” The sternness in his voice reminded Maxim of the old Guy. His brother, who was guarded, locked into himself.

The rev of an engine sounded from outside as Greg took off in the rust bucket parked out front. Headlights shone briefly on the room as the car turned around and headed down the dirt road. A female scream ripped through the air and then a solid thump, froze everyone in their spot. The engine whined tighter and fled into the distance.

Chapter 40

Extreme heat surrounded him. The pain gone, replaced by a weight pressing against his chest. He kept his eyes closed to the sight he feared would greet him. He lay curled in a tight ball, his knees rested under his chin. The cool ground beneath him provided the only relief from the vast heat.

“Come, Darius. I know you’re conscious.”

Shit!
He cracked open one eye and concentrated on focusing on the little he could see around him. A thin layer of black covered every surface.

“You failed, Darius. And then you took from me the pleasure of killing you,” the Dark One whispered in his ear.

Darius clamped his eyes shut and concentrated on being out of this place--back on Earth or in Erebos--but the heat persisted to close in on him. Images of his twin flashed in front of his closed eye lids.
He tried to save me!

“Now, you are truly
mine
.” Hades straightened next to him.

Chapter 41

The door shut firmly behind Lucessa and her parents. The comfort of her home surrounded her.

As the sun reached its zenith, they drove back to Lucessa’s house with barely a word spoken. Maxim insisted on accompanying Alexander to bury his brother. Lucessa had let him go, sensing he needed closure. A huge part of his life was coming to an end. She hoped he was strong enough to move forward, even if it wasn’t with her.

Marie clutched Lucessa’s hand. Her father’s arms were burdened with the weight of Goosey.

Within a few minutes, a cup of hot tea warmed Lucessa’s palms and her eyes moved between her parents. From her position, perched on the edge of the couch, she watched as Guy’s arm lay protectively around Marie’s shoulders.

She was ready for answers. She’d been kept in the dark for so long and she was no longer willing to be a silent, sheltered member of her own family. The silence extended between them.
How can we address all the years of lies and deceptions?

The space between them grew wide enough for a river to flow.

Her father spoke first. “I did what I believed was best for you and your mother.” Guy sighed from his seat across from Lucessa. His eyes frequently traveled to Marie, her legs wrapped in a lap blanket. The love that passed between the two was undeniable.

Why do I feel so
detached
from them?

She feared their love didn’t include her.

Lucessa didn’t know where to start to decrease the ever widening gap between them. Her mind swirled with questions and concerns--questions about Erebos and her father’s role there. She had concerns about her mom’s future, could she stand to lose Guy again? And there was always that one nagging question at the back of her mind. Ever since she learned Guy wasn’t her real father.
Was that just two days ago?
She wondered about her origins.

“I don’t blame you for what you did. I just have so many questions.” Lucessa rubbed her thumbs along the rim of her steaming cup of tea.

“We’ll be happy to talk about everything,” Marie said.

Part of Lucessa didn’t want to have this conversation now. After all these years, it was hard to demand answers when all she wanted was time in their company, reminiscing the past and planning for the future.

Hope blossomed in Lucessa’s heart.

“Okay, why’d you leave Erebos in the first place?” She aimed the question at her father but she had a hard time taking her eyes off her beautiful mother. Her thick hair, so much like her own, hung wind blown down her back and around her face.

Her father looked down at Marie. She nodded and Guy swung his gaze back to Lucessa. “I was unhappy with my lot in life.” He sighed. “I was able to experience Earth through the dreams of another and I wanted that life so badly. I no longer wanted to train and study to lead the people of Erebos.”

“Tell her everything, Guy.”

“I began visiting dreams more and more. I eventually broke the main rule all Oneiroi must follow, and I knew I couldn’t continue in Erebos. My life and destiny lie elsewhere.”

“What did you do?” It was hard to imagine her father breaking any rule.

“I spoke to your mother.”

Not for the first time in the last week, confusion flooded Lucessa mind. “I thought you met in college?”

“That’s true, darling,” Marie said. “I was attending college.”

“And I was making it a nightly habit of visiting her. I fell in love with her carefree nature, her love, and her strength. I knew she was the one for me.” A tear slid down his face. “So, I went to my father ready for his rage over my disobedience.”

“You’re too harsh on your father, dear,” Marie said.

“Well, what happened?”

“He heard me out and he was angry. You see, I was his only heir. The only one trained to lead in his absence.” Her father paused, as if gathering his thoughts. “He stewed for many days and I continued to enjoy my time with your mother, in her dreams.”

Now, this was a love story to tell your grandchildren!
Her respect and love for her dad grew. Nothing else mattered, not his leaving them or her mother’s sickness. Especially her anger and hurt for being lied to. None of that mattered.

“Eventually, he released me from my obligation. But not before he told me about my own mother,” Guy said. A smile formed on Marie’s face.