Cataclysm (Supernova Saga)

  “Yeah, that sounds like Availia, but she always knew what she was doing.”

  “Let’s just hope I inherited a little of that wisdom,” Kerrigan said. “I have a feeling I’m really going to need it tomorrow night.”

  By the following evening everything was back to normal—as normal as their abnormally exceptional lives allowed them to be, anyway. Olivia and Sydney had made up with Tyson and Talon, and, if the sounds coming out of Gabe’s bedroom when Kerrigan had gone to the bathroom in the middle of the night were any indication, so had he and Colton.

  She had every reason to be happy, ecstatic even, but she couldn’t allow herself to be. There were still so many reasons for her to be petrified. Dominic was mostly in his spectral form, she had just learned her grandmother died trying to protect her, and they still had to face off with Sinclair in less than two hours. Worse still, she didn’t know how to channel her emotions into the moonstones on her bracelet like Lucy had suggested.

  Not knowing where to turn, she went out to the garden. She walked along the edges of the yard, her fingertips dancing over the soft petals of the various flowers in full bloom. When she reached the coral seas passion flower vine, she paused. Several of the blooms were missing, reminding her that Dominic had sent Gabe out to the garden to collect a generous amount of the buds—just in case.

  Despite her adamant protests, the whole gang would be accompanying them to the cemetery. Gabe threw a hissy fit about Colton being in danger and not being able to be there should “some shit go down,” and Colton refused to go if Gabe couldn’t because they had just made up, and if he was going to die, it wouldn’t be without his precious princess by his side. So when Dominic relented for his brother’s sake, Tyson and Talon offered their assistance, waging the argument that the more muscle they had on their side, the better their chances were. Dominic thought that made sense. Sydney and Olivia didn’t, which was why they were also tagging along. They had their own mini army, but they were untrained and naïve if they thought their presence would intimidate Sinclair into giving up.

  The whole situation just stressed her out even more. Because if something did go wrong, there were that many more people to worry about, that many more people to safeguard, that many more people she chanced losing.

  People she would disappoint if she failed.

  They were all counting on her, and that was a pressure she wasn’t sure she could handle.

  She plucked one of the flowers from the vine and went to the center of the garden to sit cross-legged in the plush grass. Inhaling the crisp aroma of her grandmother’s favorite and most prized flower, she closed her eyes. “Oh, Grammy... I need you more now than ever.” Hopefully, the wind would take her words to the one person she was counting on to answer her plea for help.

  She looked up to the sky, hearing nothing but the sound of leaves rustling in the trees. The silence was haunting. She would have given anything just to hear a measure of This Little Light of Mine so that she would know her grandmother was at least listening. But there was nothing.

  “Grammy, please... I have no idea what I’m doing and so many people are counting on me.” She sat still—listening, waiting, hoping. Silence was her only answer. Never had she felt so alone.

  “Kerrigan.” The voice didn’t belong to her grandmother. A light caress of cold air brushed her neck, and her hair was pushed back from her face. “You don’t have to do this,” Dominic’s disembodied voice whispered into her ear.

  If only that were true.

  “Yes, I do.” She turned to look at him only to be met with thin air. “Let me see you,” she said with a halfhearted smile.

  Silence, again. She almost screamed just so there was at least something to pierce the foreboding silence that isolated her.

  “I can’t, Querida. I don’t have the energy to manifest.” She could tell by his intonation that it wasn’t something he took pleasure in confessing. He was running out of time. She could practically hear the tick-tock of the clock counting down. Finally, sound—just not the sound she wanted to hear.

  Drew came down the steps of the back porch. “It’s time.”

  She stood.

  “Querida...”

  Drew must have sensed their need to be alone. “I’ll get Colton and meet you guys out front,” he said, turning and disappearing back into the house.

  Donning a mask of false assurance for Dominic’s sake, she smiled. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

  “It’s not that.” Frustration laced his words. “Fuck! I just really want to kiss you right now.”

  “So kiss me.”

  “But, I’m...”

  “Kiss me, Dominic.” Where there was a will, there was a way.

  She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and waited. When she felt the first frosty evidence of his kiss, she parted her lips with a gasp. She was accustomed to his wintry kisses, but this was different. This was like standing in the middle of a magical castle of ice, the absence of a roof inviting beautifully sculptured snowflakes to fall where they may. With each inhale of breath, tiny flakes danced their way into her lungs, awakening her senses.

  She was swept away to a world of make-believe. In that world, she could see Dominic in his full, lively form, his piercing green eyes telling her they had every day of forever to be together, and nothing could stand in their way. She went to run her fingers through his hair before realizing she wasn’t standing in a magical castle. Her world of make-believe didn’t really exist. There was no physical body for her to hold onto, but she could fix that. Couldn’t she?

  There was a reason their paths had crossed. There was a reason she had fallen in love with this man despite all the reasons why she shouldn’t have. There was a reason for everything. She just needed to believe in that, hold tight to it, and have faith that everything was going exactly according to plan. Just because she hadn’t thought of that plan herself didn’t mean it was nonexistent.

  When her frozen lips began to tingle, she opened her eyes and was gifted with the vision of a glowing, white form in a shape that uniquely belonged to Dominic. His celadon eyes flashed briefly before they disappeared, and he trailed off into a ghostly ribbon of smoke that dissipated into thin air. He may not have been able to achieve full manifestation, but he did manage something.

  She smiled with renewed hope. “As unbelievably fantastic as that was, you probably just used every ounce of energy you had left to do it, didn’t you?”

  “I don’t care. I wanted to kiss you, and nothing was going to stop me from doing it.” His assertiveness was just one of the many things she loved about him. When Dominic wanted something, nothing and no one was going to stand in his way.

  Yes, where there was a will, there most definitely was a way. Apparently Dominic wasn’t the only one who needed to be reminded of that.

  Her confidence restored, she turned toward the house and pushed her shoulders back. “Let’s go kick some ass.” She headed toward the front yard like a woman with a purpose.

  One way or another, she was going to stop the reign of terror over the lives of the people she loved. And she was going to do it tonight.

  Sinclair stood in the graveyard looking down at three headstones resting side by side. Each represented a tremendous loss in her life, but she had persevered despite the odds stacked against her.

  She stooped down and pulled the weeds from the center headstone that marked her mother’s grave. Marilynn Davis had died while giving birth to her. She had been given the option of terminating the pregnancy or seeing it through to the end at great risk to her own life, but she was determined Sinclair would live and optimistic that she might also. She didn’t.

  Not long after, her father, Todd, had taken his own life. He hadn’t been able to endure the heartache that accompanied the loss of the only woman he had ever loved, and he was unwilling to go on without her. She imagined the pain her father had felt stabbed at his heart a little bit more every time he had looked into the fa
ce of the one who caused his beloved’s death. In essence, she had taken them both from this world in one way or the other.

  She wondered if her mother would have sacrificed so much if she could see the person her daughter had become. Marilynn and Todd Davis were good, God-fearing people, or so her grandmother had told her. They were probably rolling over in their graves knowing their one and only daughter practiced black magic and had tethered herself to the likes of Drake D’Mon. But, after turning her back on her grandmother, the woman who had raised her, Drake was the only family she really had.

  The loss of her parents had haunted her. She had always been depressed as a child, only getting worse in her teenage years. She had hated herself, loathing every breath she took that her parents couldn’t. Unable to take the guilt any longer, she had attempted suicide. Her grandmother had gone out with her friend one night and left her all alone, providing the perfect opportunity. It had worked for her father, maybe it would work for her, too, and they could all be together again. A handful of assorted pills later, she could literally feel her heartbeat slow to a crawl. Just as the infamous tunnel began to appear, her grandmother busted through the bathroom door with paramedics in tow and foiled her attempt to finally set her unforgiving conscience free.

  It was during her recovery in the hospital that she had met Drake. Understandably, she couldn’t remember a lot about the hospital itself, but she remembered everything about Drake. He had been like a breath of fresh air and made all kinds of promises of a better life. He had taken her under his wing and introduced her to black magic, and she excelled in her studies. But before that, he had introduced her to his sinfully orgasmic touch. He excelled at that.

  When the third loss happened—a loss that was much greater than that of her parents—she was thrown back into the familiarity of her deep, dark depression. She could have, and would have, grieved herself to the point of death, but Drake had given her something else to which she could channel her anger over her losses—revenge. It was her thirst for revenge that led her to where she was standing in that moment.

  She looked up when she heard footsteps heading in her direction. All of her morose thoughts vanished the second she saw his face. “Drew.” She could feel the muscles in her cheeks tighten and lift with a smile that spread from ear to ear. Her heart pitter-pattered in her chest, showing it was just as excited to see him. She couldn’t recall the last time she actually felt her heart beating.

  She jumped to her feet and lifted her robe to run out and greet him. It wasn’t until she saw the confused and wary expression on the face next to his that she remembered it wasn’t a social visit. Well, not entirely.

  “I brought you a present, poppet.” That thick, British accent was enough to make her weak in the knees. He held Colton tightly by the arm and swept her up to embrace her, giving her a searing kiss that made her toes curl.

  Damn, she loved kissing him, but there would be no more of that after tonight. Or once Drake arrived, for that matter. He wouldn’t stand for it, not when they would have what they were after and there was no more reason to continue the charade.

  Right, just a charade, she reminded herself.

  “Who are these people, Drew?” Colton looked from Sinclair to her coven members setting up for the ritual a few yards away. “I thought you were taking me to meet my father.”

  “Oh, you’ll meet your father soon enough, little boy.” Sinclair patted his cheek and squeezed his face. “Look how cute you are.”

  He pulled away and tried to jerk out of Drew’s grasp, but he had a firm hold. “Don’t be rude to the lady, Colton.” Drew ran his hand down the length of her back to cup her ass. “I want you to meet someone very important to me. This is Sinclair Davis, and we’re madly in love.”

  Colton’s eyes widened as he tried to take a step back. He definitely knew who she was. Not that she had doubted Dominic would tell him about her, but as protective as he was of his baby brother, she did doubt that he would tell him all the sordid details. In fact, she would lay money that the kid—who wasn’t really as much of a kid as she had imagined he would be now that she got a good look at him—still didn’t know that his brother was a freak of nature. All her doing, of course. A fact that made her kind of proud.

  She laughed at his reaction. “Aw, are you shy? Don’t you worry your gorgeous, little head. You and I will get to know each other quite intimately before all’s said and done.” She smiled mischievously. “On second thought, maybe you won’t know me that intimately, but I’m sure as hell going to know you.”

  Drew’s face screwed up in confusion. “That had better not mean what I think it means.”

  “Don’t be jealous, Andrew. It’s so unbecoming of you.” She gave him a quick kiss and pushed off his chest to lead them toward the sacrificial altar where the ritual would take place.

  “But, Sin,” Drew said, hurrying after her like the infatuated pet that he was.

  She stopped dead in her tracks and turned on him. “Don’t call me that! Don’t you ever call me that!”

  She was shocked by her own outburst. She hated the sound of that name coming from him. It made her heart drop into the pit of her churning stomach and the resulting bitter acid rise in the back of her throat. She didn’t want to be his Sin. She just wanted to be his.

  She gasped and covered her mouth. Then she turned away from him, unable to come to terms with her latest revelation. She could never be his. She had pledged herself to Drake, and even if she hadn’t, it didn’t matter. He only thought he loved her because of the potion.

  When Drew reached her, he pushed Colton toward Chase and grabbed her by her shoulders, swinging her around. Eyes the color of golden honey flashed bright and then dimmed. Then he kissed her with a passion she hadn’t felt from him in all the time they had been making love. She couldn’t help it. All her pretenses melted away, and she allowed herself to feel what he was offering, however misguided he may have been.

  His lips left hers and forged a trail of liquid fire over her jaw until he reached her ear. “You love me, Sinclair. Say it. Tell me you love me. I just need to hear it one time. That’s all I’m asking.”

  She heard a raven’s caw as it flew over the nearby crypt, and she jumped back from him. He continued to stare at her, his eyes begging her to say the words. Pulling the hood of her cloak over her head, she looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “I love you,” she said, and she meant it, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t ever really feel the same way about her, and even if he did, it still wouldn’t matter. She had pledged herself to Drake. He knew what she was, and he loved her because of it. Her future was at his side. She would shake off the unrealistic fairy tale mentality she had somehow been kidding herself with and get reacquainted with her real destiny.

  Drew put his hand to his chest and smiled, but before he could act like the sap he had been programmed to be, she turned her back on him and went to join the others. “Get him on the altar,” she ordered Chase with an air of indifference. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Drew stepped into pace beside her. “Sinclair, what are we doing?”

  She turned to him. “Look, things might get a little ugly in the next couple of minutes, and no matter what happens, I want you to promise me that when it’s all done, you’ll run for your life. You hop the next plane you can and get as far away from here as possible and don’t ever come back. Do you understand me?”

  “But, I wouldn’t leave you...”

  Of course he wouldn’t. Not as long as that damn potion controlled him. She smiled, deciding on another tactic—lying. “I won’t be far behind. I just have to tie up some loose ends here and then I’ll join you. Just text me your address, and I’ll show up on your doorstep wearing nothing but a big, shiny red bow and those fuck-me heels you love so much. Okay?”

  “And we’ll be together forever?”

  She had to really fight hard to keep the fake smile in place as she nodded. “Of course. There’s no place else I’d rather be.” Tha
t was only a partial lie.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked, seemingly placated.

  “If anyone shows up here and tries to stop us, your job is to make sure they don’t succeed. You use that nifty little gift of yours if you have to.”

  Drew bowed his head. “I won’t hurt anyone.”

  Theo laughed. “I thought he was so in love with you he’d do anything you asked, Sinclair? You must be losing your touch.” His eyes had a milky white film over them, still blind from what that bitch, Kerrigan, did to him the last time they had attempted this ritual, and he likely would be forever, thanks to her. But that didn’t excuse his eavesdropping on her conversation.

  “Unless you want to lose your tongue, you’ll keep your mouth shut and mind your own fucking business!” When Theo attempted to melt into the background, Sinclair turned back to Drew. She lifted his chin so that she could see his eyes. “You do love me, don’t you?”

  “More than you’ll ever know.”

  “Good. Then I need you to do what I’ve asked. You’re more powerful than that little bitch, Kerrigan, so if she shows up, I need you to keep her away from me until I’ve done what I need to do.”

  “And what is that, exactly?”

  She put her hand in the air with her fingers extended, and the raven swooped down from the sky, perching on them. She petted the bird’s breast. “A very important man’s soul is trapped in the body of this magnificent animal. I’m going to release him and put him into Colton’s body.”

  “But what about Colton?”

  She shrugged. “Who cares?”

  “But—”

  She snapped her head in his direction. “If you love me, you’ll do this. We can’t be together until it’s done. This is the only way.” She grabbed his crotch and began stroking him through his pants. The raven squawked and ruffled its feathers. Apparently Drake wasn’t pleased with her brazened attempt at seduction, but he would just have to get over it. She was doing all this for him, after all. “Do this for me, and there’s no limit to what I’ll do for you.”