Out Of The Darkness (25 page)

“So does that mean…?”

“I have hope that it does. Now. Somewhere, I may have three siblings still living. I just do not know. But I cannot think of that now.”

“But what does this have to do with Nalik and me?”

“Kilan is
Nalik
spelled backwards, Cassandra. And Nalik was the name given to the very first line of Dardaptoans I created through my tears. And I gave them the last name
Black
because that was how
my
soul felt at the time of their creation. But as long as I’ve watched his family line—in over six thousand years,
never
have I seen a male so resemble my brother as your
Rajni
. Even the
scar
across his face
is true to my Kilan. I believe they may share the same soul. But only time will tell that.”

“But he isn
’t Kilan, he’s Nalik. There has to be a difference.” And she definitely wasn’t some reincarnated Dardaptoan female from another world.
That
would be truly crazy. “And I am not Rajna. I am just me.”

“You have a
pure
soul. One filled with humility. Just like Rajna. No, I do not think you are Rajna. But I think you are
Nalik’s Rajni
. It was your name I whispered when he was born more than seven hundred years ago.”

“But
why
? And how? I wasn’t even born yet. No one in my family was!”

“I am just a channel for the love between
Rajnis
, Cassandra. In all these thousands of years
I
have yet to figure out how the names come to me. Or from where. I just know that when I say two belong together—it is because those two belong together. I very rarely have a
Rajni
pair that does not grow in love with one another. Keep that in your thoughts. And remember that in his heart,
you
are the very reason he breathes.”

“But what if I hurt
him
?”

“You will. Pain in love is inevitable. As inevitable as anything else. But it is how you show that love that matters. How you help him deal with that pain.”

“But what am I supposed to
do
now? This is not my home. This is not where I belong.”

The goddess stared at her with an inscrutable look. “Isn
’t it? I suggest you think of something you must not have already considered…this place can be the home
you
make of it. There are no family legacies to hold you back here. Yours or his. His mother will never step foot in a demon world. Her hate and prejudices prevent it. And your sister’s destiny lies in the Gaian world. She’ll return there soon. There is no Taniss Industries in this world. Nalik’s destiny is to rule the Dardaptoans
here
as my brother’s destiny lies elsewhere already. The people will look at him and see the parts of Kilan that made my elder brother the leader that he was. Honor. Loyalty. Strength. Wisdom. Bravery. Compassion. All of those are in Nalik. And they are in
you.
No one else is better suited for that male than you. Just remember that. Now, I need to go. I am still weak at times, and need to rest.”

Cass returned the baby to the goddess, then watched as Kennera left. Then Cass found herself alone. With the weight of so many worlds and peoples swirling around inside her head.

Chapter 46

Nalik could smell the ravages of the fire before the ether of the portkey cleared around them. They were back in the gardens of the Dardanos resort.
But it was destroyed. Cassandra’s grotto was scorched, not a vine or plant she’d worked so hard over the last year to grow remained.

It hurt him and he ached for her, for what the destruction would do to his female once she learned of it.

“How much damage did the structure take?” He studied the sandstone walls. Fire streaks in an unnatural pattern covered the walls—even those of the inner courtyard. He looked closer at the ash streaks. Circles, almost runic in nature, spaced at even intervals along the stone.

Someone with some damned strong power—especially in
this
realm—had been behind the attack on the hotel.

And that was exactly what it had been, an attack. But was it the result of this upcoming war, or was it something else?

Rydere stood at his side, his own gaze focused on the building. Nalik understood how the destruction would hurt the other male. Rydere had built every bit of this city, almost completely from nothing.

They had arrived in Colorado four hundred years ago, when it was nothing but wilds and native humans, with nothing but their swords, their men, and weak and hungry women and children. They
’d numbered less than a thousand, then. And Rydere had led them ever since. Had grown that thousand to fifteen times that.

This was a blow against all of them. “You can rebuild.”

Rydere looked at him, bleakness in his eyes. “Yes. But when?”

“When the war is over. Wars always end. We
’ve learned that before.” Aodhan stepped up to Rydere’s other side. “They burn their path of destruction, but then someone shows up to build upon that path. Bringing flowers and children. We will do this. But first; let’s see what of our families’ homes remain. Theo wishes me to fetch him some books. Let’s see if they were nothing more than tinder for the fire.”

Nalik would seek out his own suite of rooms, find the files he was there to fetch to begin with. Then he
’d grab a few of the family heirlooms he didn’t really want, but a babe might like in the far future.

Then he
’d turn his back on Gaia, for what he knew would be a long while. He could not bring Cassandra back here until the destruction was healed. It would hurt her far too much.

“You can rebuild. Here. The demon world. Levia. It doesn
’t matter. You have your female, you have hope for a future.”

Only three of the ten wings had been completely destroyed by the fire. Cormac
’s had suffered close to sixty-percent damage—Kindara’s suite was completely gone, as was her daughter’s—and Theo’s brother Thad had lost most of his suite—but for the most part the building still stood. Half the healer’s wing was beyond repair. The pools and some of the common rooms were nothing but ash.

But as far as they could tell, no lives had been lost from the city of 15
,484 people, including six hundred humans. Most of them had evacuated to other cities on Rydere’s orders.

Rydere met him in the courtyard an hour after they
’d parted. He held a small box of items, himself. Nalik carried only the box of files from Taniss’s laboratory and a leather bag. Inside the bag were all of the Black House jewels and trinkets that he wanted to pass down. It was not much, but his children would have them, these few possessions of Erastine’s that he’d found in the room his mother had kept as a shrine to his sister. He’d found a few of Iavius’s toys from so long ago, as well. Someday, he would give the toys to his own babes—or give them to Kindara to pass on to her own demon spawn. Iavius would have wanted Kindara happy—even if it was in the arms of a damned demon. He would have just wanted the woman he’d loved above all else happy.

Nalik
could finally understand that.

He
’d looked around the wing of the hotel that had been
his
to rule for four hundred years and felt no attachment to any part of it. It was just a place, and one in which he doubted he would ever be truly happy in again.

Unless she was there.

And it would take too much to repair the world around the hotel of the scars of fire for him to bring his little Druid anywhere near this world anytime soon. It would take
years
to cleanse the ground of the evil someone, most likely a sorcerer or witch or deity of great strength and power, had wielded in this land.

He would return at a later date to pick through the hotel once more, gathering his family
’s treasures again, once he and Cassandra had a house of their own to furnish.

“That is all you wish to take with you?” Rydere asked. “Destruction that bad?”

“Nothing was worth carrying back through the portkey.”

“I grabbed you this.” Rydere held out a bag Nalik recognized. A pink and purple schoolbag. “She dropped it that day you two disappeared. And I grabbed the rest of her stuff from her room. She didn
’t have much in there. The Wolf god took a load of stuff through already. He and Jushua have returned to the demon world. I’m just waiting for Aodhan to return with the wolf.”

“Taniss?”

“Jason is talking to his brothers now. Aodhan went along to add backing.
He
and his father-in-law actually get along quite well.”

Nalik nodded. “And
ours
?”

“On his way here now. I called him.”

“And it was that simple?”

“That was all it took. I told him that Cassandra and Emily had need of him. He is a good man, Nalik, who loves his daughters very, very much. He could be much worse, I suppose.”  Rydere cursed again when he looked around them at the windows busted from flames, the scarred remains of fruit trees, the scorched rocks that surrounded the grotto. “I have given the orders to FEMA that the humans are not to be allowed back into this town. I have told them we will go bankrupt if we try to restore the infrastructure to a town this size. It
’s happened. Dardanos is
finished.
”

Nalik remembered the talks they
’d had, how they’d debated everything from sanitation systems to education to political structure for their fledgling city so many centuries ago. And in the years since. “
Nothing
is permanent. After these wars end, you can return. With your female and any babes. Our people will follow you here. At least most of them. You can rebuild.”

Rydere looked straight at him. “Can I? Somehow I wonder.”

After about four hours had passed Cass was convinced all of the people—demons, Dardaptoans, goddesses, and werewolves, sisters and cousins—all of them were crazy.

And not a single one of them except Kennera and Eaudne were happy with the idea of Cass being
Rajni
to Nalik. Aureliana, maybe. So many of them feared him; did they realize that?

Kennera had to be insane to think the people would look to Nalik to lead them. How could they?

She’d made her decision when she had watched him disappear into that portkey. She’d wanted to run after him, the desire almost overwhelming her. It made things very clear for her. She’d missed him more than she’d ever thought possible. Whatever the future held for her, she would face it with him beside her. She would act on her instincts, for once, and they were telling her that
he
was what she wanted and needed.

And the goddess had given her a lot to think about.

Eaudne and Aureliana had stayed nearby, for some reason. They’d even insisted she go with them to investigate the nearest city. It had once housed the Rhacshas demons, but they’d been killed when Aureliana had become Laquazzean. Now the city sat empty; Rathan had decried the Dardaptoans could use it and make it their new home.

Cass had studied a map of the city when Aureliana asked her opinion on it. There were several invasive plant species that would need to be dealt with, and Cass had a great desire to study them. One was supposed to be a great plant of coagulant potential. Aureliana was collecting samples for Josey to test. Cormac and Josey, as well as Jade and Barlaam, were staying in the demon world to work with Kindara on studying the plants and medicines of Relaklonos. Cass figured she could make herself useful by studying the plant aspect of things.

Rathan had already contacted several horticulturists from his kingdom to have them meet with her when she decided the time was right.

Eaudne was overseeing the gathering of non-perishable food supplies and
clothing and blankets. Thrun had apparently once been a Rhaschas demon city, and from what Aureliana had told her, Rhaschas were only four feet or so, and were quite filthy. Jushua’s fighters and many other volunteers were setting up temporary headquarters outside the city and spending their hours during the day sanitizing and making it habitable for the families and children.

Cormac had suggested rather strongly that she dress herself in traditional Dardaptoan clothing—in
white.
With a black scarf. She’d borrowed the clothing from Josey, and Aureliana had provided a scarf from somewhere. Cass understood the significance. It would tell Nalik’s people that
she
was
Equa
of their House, and to signify that they were to come to her with their needs.

Cass had never held a position of authority in her life, and she wasn
’t sure she could—or should—start now. But Aureliana had thought it was a good idea, too.