Promise (28 page)

"Our primary concern is your immediate
safety," she said, "but for you to understand our discussions, you
must be better informed. At our direction, Sophia and Tristan have
only told you what you needed to know. However, recent events have
shown you deserve to know more now, rather than waiting for the
Ang'dora
.

"We are the Amadis. All of us, including
Owen, are part of the Amadis society. Solomon and Stefan are
members of the council. You, your mother, myself and Tristan, too,
are direct descendents of the original Amadis family bloodline.
Women in our direct bloodline have ruled the Amadis since its
beginning over two millennia ago. I have been the matriarch for
over a half-century. At some point in the future, Sophia will
inherit it from me and then you from her. There was a time when we
thought our existence was all but extinct, until you miraculously
arrived. You are full of such promise and I am convinced the
Ang'dora
will bring you powers unseen since our earliest
leaders."

I felt my eyes grow wider with every sentence
Rina spoke. She paused now, not only so she could take a breath
herself, but so I could have a moment to process it. It was already
too much.
Royalty? Unseen powers? Me?!
Tristan squeezed my
hand and I felt myself slightly relax. I hadn't realized I'd become
so tense.

Mom excused herself to get us all a glass of
wine. I didn't know if that was such a good idea for me, but I did
know I could really use it.

"Can I ask a question?" I asked while we
waited for Mom. Rina nodded. "Actually, two. What, exactly, are the
Amadis? And why are the Daemoni our enemies?"

Rina nodded again. "We are the protectors of
souls. The Daemoni try to destroy human souls; we fight to save
them. They are full of hatred; we are full of love. They are ruled
by Hell; we are ruled by Heaven. They would like us to cease
existing so they can rule the Earth. It is our job to prevent that
from occurring. You will learn the whole story and know our full
purpose, and yours specifically, one day, but not now. Is that
enough?"

I nodded reluctantly. It really wasn't
enough—I'd hoped to get more—but I was too intimidated to push
it.

Rina continued where she'd left off. "As soon
as we realized your righteous qualities and your strength, we had
hope. We also knew our chances would be strengthened if you had a
child—a daughter, of course—fathered by the most powerful male with
Amadis blood. Tristan had just come to us, but we knew, even when
he was not sure himself, he would become one of us. Most of us knew
when you were just an infant that your souls were meant for each
other. The Heavenly Host created you specifically for each other,
the strongest connection two souls can have."

She paused as Mom handed each of us a glass
of wine.

"There is only one problem with this Heavenly
match," Rina continued. "The Daemoni would like to prevent it.
Firstly, they still desire to have Tristan back. They promise him a
kingdom, but we all know he would be under their rule. They believe
him to be a possession. They have time and again tried to bring him
back, using an assortment of tactics, from promises of greatness to
violent force. Tristan refuses."

I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.
I had almost pushed him back to them
. I could never let that
happen again. I squeezed his hand.

"So, secondly, they seek revenge. If they
cannot have their ultimate warrior, then they certainly do not want
us to have him. They seek revenge against Tristan for betraying
them and against the Amadis in general for taking him.

"Thirdly, this match will result in our
family's, and therefore our society's, continuance. The Daemoni
would like to see us extinguished. Add to that, young Alexis, the
fact that they have always targeted the youngest Amadis daughter
and you can see we have a complex problem on our hands."

Tension filled the room like a dense fog as
we sipped our wine. Well, everyone else sipped. I drained mine, but
didn't expect it to have much effect on me. Tristan put his arm
around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. That calmed me more
than the wine did.

"We need to consider this from both an
immediate and a long-term perspective," Solomon said. His deep,
seductive voice, with a foreign accent different than Rina's,
matched his attractive, yet exotic face—nearly white skin but,
somehow, with a dark undertone, and features that looked African or
possibly Caribbean. "The Daemoni know about our plan for the two of
you and that it is being executed. The question is what they will
do about it."

Stefan spoke next. Even his voice—smooth,
clear, authoritative—sounded familiar, but I still couldn't place
him. "Through our recognizance, we have heard them discuss four
options and they are not yet decided whether to pursue any in the
immediate future."

"Explain the options so we can all
understand," Rina said.

Stefan spoke matter-of-factly. "First, they
could try to kill Tristan."

My heart jumped against my chest. I
instinctively shifted my body in front of Tristan and put my arm
across him in protection, shaking my head.
As if I can do
anything.
Tristan pulled me back to him, his arms wrapped
around me like a human straightjacket.

"Relax and listen," he murmured.

Stefan glanced at us briefly and continued.
"They believe this could prevent another Amadis daughter and would
give them their revenge for Tristan's betrayal. However, they are
not fond of this idea. They still have hope in Tristan."

Solomon shook his head, the long cornrows,
some pulled back into a pony tail, swinging slightly. "They do not
have the means to kill him."

I relaxed with this statement and Tristan let
go of me. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

"It would have to be an ambush. Lucas is the
only one who might have a chance single-handedly, but they would
not risk that," he said. He and Mom exchanged looks I didn't
understand. He shrugged. "They've tried to kill me before. It is
not
my
life we need to worry about."

"Until there is a daughter, we need you,"
Solomon said harshly, but he followed with an exquisite smile of
gleaming white teeth. I wasn't sure how to take him and, I thought,
that's the impression he intended.

"There are other options for offspring
besides me," Tristan muttered. I threw him a dirty look.

"Tristan, daughter or not, we
are
concerned for your life," Rina said. "But you are right. This is
status quo. Go on, Stefan."

Stefan said their next option was to kill me.
"This would definitely prevent the bloodline from continuing and
would give them revenge on Tristan by killing his mate. In their
twisted way, they believe this could bring him back in
remorse."

For some reason, I didn't have nearly as
strong a reaction to my murder as I did to Tristan's.

"They can only kill her if they are provoked.
They must have justifiable reason," Rina said adamantly, lifting
her chin.

"Yes, according to ancient law, that is,
ultimately, the only rights they have, but they could still try,"
Solomon said.

"They know it would mean a major battle,"
Stefan said. "They are mostly concerned about fighting Sophia and
Tristan, though—two Amadis daughters and their own warrior could be
a major victory or a terrible defeat for them."

I looked at Mom, sick at the thought of her
fighting these monsters to protect me. She glanced at me, seemingly
unconcerned until she saw my face.

She came over to me, squatted in front of me
to look me directly in the eye and said firmly, "Don't you worry
about us. We are just discussing how the Daemoni see it. They will
not
get to us. We have the best and highest protection."

I nodded, trying to look calm, but I
shuddered anyway.

"Let us take a moment for a breath," Rina
said and then she looked at Tristan. He stood up, grabbed my hands
and pulled me up. I wondered if she'd communicated
telepathically.

"Come on. Let's get some fresh air," he said,
leading me through the kitchen and out the back door.

The evening air still felt muggy and heavy
against my skin, but I felt a sense of freedom as I drew it in. I
smelled the humidity, combined with freshly mown grass, jasmine and
magnolias from the neighbor's yard behind us. I took several
cleansing breaths, trying to focus on steadying my pounding
heart.

"You okay?" Tristan asked after a few
minutes. He leaned casually against the house as if we'd just been
discussing what new toy to buy rather than our own demise.

"Yeah, freakin' wonderful." I gave him a weak
smile and walked over to him. I lifted my hands to the back of his
neck, stretched up on my toes and tilted my head back. "Make me
okay, please."

He kissed me and a sense of calmness washed
over me with his scent and taste and touch. I inhaled deeply for an
extra dose.

"Okay," I said.

Mom handed me a glass of ice water as I
returned to the loveseat. I emptied the glass, the icy liquid light
and refreshing, washing away the thick, bitter coating the wine had
left in my mouth and throat. I finally nodded at Rina, who'd been
watching me expectantly.

"Okay, Stefan, please proceed with the other
options," she said.

The third option, according to Stefan, was
business as usual—the Daemoni would mostly leave me alone until
they had Provocation. The way they all said "Provocation," I could
hear the capital P, as in it must be official.

"And that leads us to the fourth option,"
Stefan said. "They capture Alexis to bring Tristan to them, using
her as bait. This appears to be the most dangerous option for us.
They would not have Alexis's blood on their hands, so they do not
see this as a violation. They also have a strong desire to have
both Alexis and Tristan alive, but in their hands, seeing the same
great potential we do, but working for them."

Everyone in the room reacted to this
statement. Solomon hissed. Mom and Rina gasped. Tristan swore under
his breath. I didn't understand.

"I thought their natural instinct is to kill
me. How could they keep me alive?" I asked. "And why would they
want to, once they had Tristan?"

They all exchanged meaningful looks I didn't
understand. Rina nodded at Mom and Mom sighed, closing her eyes and
pinching the bridge of her nose. Tristan put his arms around me and
whispered he loved me in my ear. Mom eventually came over to us and
knelt on the floor in front of me, while everyone else stared at
the floor. Something horrible was coming.

"Honey, it's time you knew something about
your…father," Mom said quietly.

"You mean sperm donor," I corrected. "I don't
have
a father."

Her eyes dropped to the floor and she spoke
so quietly, it was barely more than a whisper. "The last time I met
up with Tristan, he was with Lucas. After Tristan, Lucas was—is
now—the Daemoni's most powerful warrior. They were on a mission to
kill me, but not in their normal, direct manner. Tristan thought
they should act like they wanted to leave the Daemoni, become close
to me, build my trust and then go in for the kill. Tristan really
did want to leave and I was able to help him and bring him to the
Amadis. But…" Her voice wavered and a tear slid down her cheek. And
then another. I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen Mom cry before.
Her voice filled with grief and longing. "…But I couldn't help
Lucas. I tried so hard, did everything I could. I thought loving
him, giving myself completely to him would do it. No one could have
ever guessed…I'd already changed over and no one had ever
conceived…"

"
What?
What are you saying…?" I shook
my head, knowing already.

"Lucas is your…"

Whop!
The breath flew out of me. I
felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach.

"I…I…I'm
Daemoni
?!" I choked on the
words. A heavy weight pressed down on my chest, making my breaths
shallow. Tristan's words from long ago echoed in my ears…
pure
evil
…
real demons
…
soldiers and followers of Satan
himself.
It flows through my blood?
I jumped up and
paced the living room, shaking my arms out, as if I could throw the
hideousness off of me. "No! No, no,
no
!"

"
You are
Amadis
, through and
through.
Do not forget that!" Rina's voice thundered in my
head. I stopped and glared at her through the tears in my eyes. She
spoke aloud with calm surety, "Alexis, you are
not
Daemoni.
You have Lucas's blood, but you are completely Amadis. All of your
powers, all of your qualities, everything that makes you one of our
most powerful descendents yet, are all good and righteous."

"How do you
know
that? How do you know
for
sure
?" I demanded, throwing my arms up in emphasis.

"We evaluated you as a baby. I felt it again
when you first walked in…when I took your hand, I assessed you. The
evil is fully suppressed; I can hardly feel anything."

I didn't feel any better. The questions
flying through my head panicked me.

"And what about when I change over? Do you
know for sure I'll be like
you
? That I'll be
good
?
What if I
don't
change? Or what if the evil strengthens with
the
Ang'dora
? Do you have those answers?" The thought of
being anything different than myself or Mom…anything
evil
…terrified me. I choked on the idea as if it were a
physical object lodged in my throat.

Rina shook her head and admitted, "No, we do
not have those answers. You are unique. But your powers are so
strong, we are confident you will be
perfect…
magnificent
."