Sorry for the delay. I won't blame writer's block; I'll just blame a lack of hours in the day.
PART TWENTY B
Liz sat at the kitchen table, her hands framing a warm cup of coffee. She spun the cup clockwise then back to its original position so the handle fit neatly into the palm of her right hand. She glanced upward but kept her head stationary as to not disturb the solitary moment. She stared at Michael and Isabel through her bangs and noticed the similar body position shared by all three. She raised her head, surprised to see Michael and Isabel mimic her motion.
“Maria Grace is a lovely little girl,” Liz remarked as a flood of girlish squeals echoed into the kitchen from the den where Livvie, Nina and Maria Grace were playing. “I can see why Kyle is wrapped around her little finger.”
“They adore each other,” Isabel agreed, her attention on the coffee mug between her hands. “I’m lucky to have both of them.”
“We’re all lucky to have our children,” Liz said in a small voice. “Lucky indeed.”
“I know why you did it,” Isabel replied after a moment’s pause, catching both Liz and Michael off guard. The two exchanged glances and Michael gave a shrug in response to Isabel’s declaration.
“What did I do, Isabel?”
“Why you didn’t tell Max and Jase and Lily. Why you kept them a secret from him. I know why you did it. Now I understand why you did it.”
“To…protect him. To protect all of them,” Liz whispered as her voice caught in her throat. Her mind instantly flashed back to the moment Max found out about Jase and Lily in the back room of the Crashdown after the funerals of her parents. She had never intended him to find out about their children but how different their lives would have been had Max not overheard that conversation with Maria and Kyle. “Kyle will be fine, Isabel. He, Jase, Max and Absalom will find Lily and they’ll all come home. You’ll see.”
“You should trust Liz,” Michael commented as he pulled the coffee mug to his lips. “Things always seem to work out if she says they will.” Liz smiled at him, her own coffee mug pressed against her mouth, the milky coffee sending a rush of warmth through her body.
“I trust Liz. There are just other things about this situation that I don’t trust.”
“Tess,” Liz replied with a thoughtful nod. She too had not wanted Tess involved in any part of Lily’s rescue, but Max had managed to convince her it could only enhance their efforts to have Tess finally on their side. “Max thinks she’s trustworthy.”
“What do you think,” Isabel asked in a way that caused Liz to turn her attention toward her sister-in-law. She and Isabel had never been close but something about Isabel’s plea hit Liz squarely in the heart. It seemed to Liz that if she believed it, Isabel would believe it too.
“I believe in Max,” Liz replied with ultimate conviction and offered her hand to Isabel. “I have to believe in Max.”
* * *
Max, Tess and Kyle sat in silence as Kyle drove the dusty Ford Ranger toward an abandoned-looking building on the outside of Las Cruces about forty minutes away from the university. Kyle put the truck into park and turned off the ignition, but neither of them moved. Max stared at the building and he could feel Kyle’s eyes on him.
“Let’s go,” Kyle said, his hand already on the door handle. “Time is wasting while we sit here with our thumbs up our butts.”
Max turned toward Tess as Kyle exited the truck, leaving the driver’s side door open for Tess to climb out also. The two of them slowly stepped out of the truck, Kyle almost to the door of the building. It looked like it had once been a department store; what had once been the front windowpanes were now covered by large sheets of plywood, the area around the building dusty from disuse. “She’s not here,” Max remarked to no one in particular.
“What,” Kyle called from the doorway of the building. He shielded his hand as the mid-morning sun began to creep onto the horizon. “What did you say?”
“She’s not here,” Tess repeated for Kyle’s benefit and dug the toe of her boot into the loose dirt at the corner of the building.
“You knew, didn’t you,” Max began, unable to stop himself from advancing toward Tess. He stopped himself before he had completely reached her side. “You knew Lily wouldn’t be here.”
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t know where Kivar had taken her. Las Cruces and Chandler were the only two strongholds that hadn’t been dismantled. That was the last piece of news I heard.”
“We’ve wasted an entire day for nothing.”
“We haven’t wasted anything, Max. We had to come here. What if they’d been here? We wouldn’t have known had we not split up.”
“But Absalom is the one that’s going to find her, Tess,” Max countered. “We all know that. We all know that finding Lily is Absalom’s destiny.” Max paused and turned to Kyle momentarily. “This was another one of your plans, wasn’t it? What kind of trap have you let my son walk in to?”
“No, Max. I…I want to help you. I want to help you find Lily so I can attempt to make up for some of the damage I’ve caused.”
“I think she’s telling the truth, Max,” Kyle replied, his hand firm on Max’s shoulder in an effort to stop Max from advancing any further in Tess’ direction, “but it’s not helping anything for us to be in Las Cruces arguing when Lily and Kivar are in Chandler. We have to go if we want to get to her in time.”
Max nodded as he shook off Kyle’s hand. Kyle stepped between Max and Tess toward the truck and Max heard the engine roar to life. “If you did this on purpose, Tess -”
“Everything has a reason, Max. Every choice we make or do not make effects more than just us. You should know that by now.” Tess stared at Max, her cheeks flushed from the cold morning air, and she turned on her heels and began walking toward the truck after several seconds of Max’s silence.
Max watched Tess for a moment before following her to Kyle’s truck, her cryptic message ringing in his ears and he rolled it over and over underneath his tongue as Kyle drove the three of them out of Las Cruces and toward Chandler. Max knew Tess’ messages usually had a way of coming true, or at least revealing themselves, and he wondered when this latest message would show itself to them and what that would mean for their future.
* * *
The gray steel door inched open, a howling squeal erupting through the silent hallway as metal touched metal but Lily did not move from her hunched position in the corner of the room. Her hands trembled and her mouth felt dry and itchy. She hadn’t eaten since Kivar had locked her in the cell, no matter how many of his moord’ga had pinned her to the cold floor in an effort to force food down her throat. She had fought them to the best of her ability, jabbing one in what should have been his groin as he straddled her stomach. After that incident, the food stopped coming and Lily didn’t know how many meals she had missed.
She strained her eyes against the sun as windows magically appeared in the small cell, the light almost blinding. She attempted to swallow but when she could not produce saliva, her breath caught in her throat, prompting her to cough and double over in a violent dry heave. Several shadows approached her in her weakened state and she recognized one of the shadows as Kivar. Keeping her chin lowered toward her chest, Lily refused to look at him, and did not make eye contact with him until he physically placed his hands on her chin and forced her to do so.
“You haven’t eaten,” he said and Lily watched as his green eyes seemed to water in the corners a bit as if he were crying. “You should eat, Lily. You need your strength for what’s about to happen to you.”
“What day is it,” Lily questioned, easily pulling her chin out of Kivar’s hand and turning her head to stare at the wall.
“Today is December 17, the day before we are to be married.” Kivar stood up from his stooped position and Lily felt two pairs of strong male hands underneath her armpits. The men hoisted her to her feet and released her. Lily felt her knees buckle and she collapsed to the ground again under her own body weight. This time, Kivar wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest while her feet dangled off the ground. “You’re weak. You must eat.”
“I won’t eat anything you provide to me.”
“You will,” Kivar boomed, his loud voice causing vibrations throughout her entire body. “Whether I must make you eat myself.”
“Then why send your moord’ga first? Why not feed me yourself before sending your monsters after me?”
“Feed her,” Kivar replied without answering Lily’s questions as he effortlessly passed Lily to a man she had never seen before, her body as weak as a newborns. “Bathe her. Clothe her. If she fights you, force her, by any means necessary.”
“I can bathe myself,” Lily refuted as Kivar turned away from her. “I am not helpless and I am not powerless. Kivar! I can bathe myself.” She shrank against the unknown male, his large calloused hands caressing her shoulders in a way that made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t imagine such a man being alone with her while she bathed and dressed herself and she didn’t understand why Kivar would allow such a thing to take place at his own bidding.
Kivar turned toward her, his face unreadable. “If you can, then do so, Lily. Your clothes are in the room that’s been prepared for you. This man will watch you and is prepared to assist, should you refuse.”
“Are we moving to another location? Where will you be taking me?”
“No, Lily,” Kivar continued. “Tonight we will be married.”
Pathos/Chaos/Terminus (CC/UC/AU,Mature) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
Part 21
Author's Note: While I'm not completely satisfied with this section, I think it is as good as it's going to be. The scenes shift quite often; hopefully, you'll be able to see it as I've seen it in my mind and that one scene melds into another.
On another note, this fic is almost over. I'm expecting to end it at 25 parts (3 longer than either Pathos or Chaos). I'm a little sad to see it end, which I guess is why I'm writing some short pieces based on this world.
Enjoy, and just know that it won't be too pretty for the next couple of parts.
JO
----------
PART TWENTY-ONE
Lily’s pale skin made her almost unrecognizable in the white flowing gown Kivar had instructed she wear. Tear stains marred her cheeks and her eyes appeared blood-shot. She had done nothing to cover up the fact that she was miserable, despite what Kivar had told her earlier in the day. Her feet moved toward Kivar only because they were being forced to by the same unknown male whose calloused hands had earlier caressed her shoulders. She felt her knees buckle, the man’s arm wrapping around her waist and hoisting her back to her feet, his grip on her upper arm tight.
The man deposited her beside Kivar who wrapped his arm around her waist to support her, and a man in a hooded robe began to speak in a language Lily didn’t understand. His slender fingers reached for her from beneath his robe, and Lily felt Kivar’s lips graze her cheek. She struggled against his hold but was unable to break free of him. Kivar spun them away from the hooded man and toward the doorway she had used to enter the large room. She tried to scream as Kivar walked them out of the room but her breath caught in her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks as the implications of what her destiny would be settled into her mind. She kicked against Kivar when they reached the hallway, and Kivar released her slightly from his grip as a loud explosion echoed through the base. She watched with wide eyes as Jase, Absalom, Tristan and Morgana ran into the hallway at the same, each pair coming from different directions. “Absalom,” she screamed, having finally found her voice. She flailed against Kivar’s hold and screamed Absalom’s name again. Smoke fill the hallway and she lost sight of Absalom and Jase, Kivar pulling her away from them despite her struggle against him.
* * *
Absalom and Jase ran into the main hallway of the base, surprised to see Tristan and Morgana arrive at the exact same time from a different hallway. Absalom’s eyes found Lily relatively easy, she already dressed in traditional Antarian dress, her face pale and gaunt, his father’s hand wrapped around her arm. He stepped toward Lily, her frantic cries filling his ears, as a bright light flashed toward him.
Instinctively, he placed his hands outward, creating the yellow shield he had never used except in training, and he felt a power surge hit against it. Opening his eyes, he saw Tristan on the opposite side of his shield, one surge of power aimed at him and the other aimed at Jase. Absalom turned to his left and saw Jase writhing in pain as the surge impacted his body. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to inch his way toward Jase, hoping to deflect some of Tristan’s powers onto his shield and protect Jase as much as possible. Before he had taken a single step, he felt a familiar presence penetrate his mind. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his mother, Max and Kyle, and he recognized the presence as Tess’ before the blackness pulled him under.
* * *
“They’re here,” Tess called, and she, Max and Kyle ran through the tunnel toward the noise. The tunnel opened up into an intersecting room, where several hallways met at one point. In one hallway, Tristan and Morgana stood together, Tristan’s smoky eyes wide as he focused his powers on Absalom and Jase. In front of Tess, Max and Kyle stood Absalom and Jase. Jase seemed to be absorbing most of Tristan’s power as Absalom was protected by his shield.
“He’s killing Jase,” Max screamed, he and Kyle stepping forward toward Jase. Tess heard Morgana scream and she closed her eyes in concentration, surprised to discover she had penetrated Absalom’s mind with so little effort. He fought her for a split second but Tess was able to overpower him, and knock him unconscious. She opened her eyes and watched as her son’s yellow shield dissolved and he fell to the ground beside Jase.
“Jase! Tess, do something!”
“Tristan,” Tess called when Morgana screamed again, and Tristan stopped his assault on Jase. “What are you doing, Tristan?”
“Hello, Mother. I’m surprised to see you here.” Tristan scowled at Tess, his right hand stopping Morgana from advancing to Jase’s side.
“Let me go,” Morgana cried as she thrashed against Tristan, and it was just the distraction Tess needed. She moved quickly and stood in front of Jase and Absalom as Tristan threw Morgana to the ground.
“You don’t have to do this,” Tess said as she stepped toward where Tristan and Morgana were, Max and Kyle behind her tending to Jase and Absalom. She looked over her shoulder for a moment, Absalom still motionless, as Tristan began to speak to her.
“We both know that I’m going to anyway, don’t we, Mother? All you had to do was to be truthful and none of this would have happened. Or maybe you shouldn’t have kidnapped Jase and Lily. You’d still have your husband and your children wouldn’t be such disappointments.”
“Tristan,” Tess called and a bright light flashed in front of her face. When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her back, Max and Kyle flanking her. She inhaled sharply and she felt a wetness pool in the small of her back. A cold chill began from her hands and drifted outward to her limbs, and she faintly recognized the feel of Kyle’s skin against hers.
“Just lie still, Tess,” Max commanded as he removed his jacket and began to roll his sleeves. “Kyle and I are here, and I’m going to heal you.”
“No,” Tess whispered and she blinked slowly. “You have to let this play out, Max. This is my destiny now. I’m just…I’m just sorry for everything that I’ve done. I…I’ve done horrible things. I…I’ve hurt so many people.”
“Stop talking, Tess,” Kyle said, and Tess felt his hand press against her forehead. She felt cold against Kyle’s warm skin and she glanced to her right, watching Max run his hands across her body with a look of intense concentration on his face. “You need to stop talking now so Max can heal you.”
“It’s too late for that,” Tess whispered as she turned toward Kyle, his gray eyes shining with unshed tears and Tess gave him a small smile.
“Hang on, Tess,” Max said and Tess felt pressure on her abdomen and inhaled sharply. Her memories flashed through her mind in fast forward, memories filled with Max, Kyle, Liz, Isabel, Kivar and her children, the last thought registering in her mind was of Absalom. She did not exhale as the spectrum of colors shrouded her eyes and faded to white.
* * *
Tristan ran down the hallway after Kivar and Lily, his hands expertly retrieving the pulse pistol he had hidden in the waistband of his pants. Morgana’s screams still echoed in his ears and the sight of his mother lying in a pool of her own blood flashed through his mind but he did not focus on those events; he simply focused on Lily and the satisfaction he would receive when he claimed her.
He rounded the slight turn in the hallway, a glimpse of Lily’s white gown disappearing around the turn, and it urged him forward. Two of Kivar’s infamous moord’ga stood guard, blocking Tristan’s path to Lily. He aimed his pistol at the smaller moord’ga first, aiming where Jabra had told him they were the weakest, the memory retained from his training at fifteen years old. The shot was quick and the moord’ga slumped against the wall; Tristan quickly shot the second moord’ga before the warrior had an opportunity to react.
Hurdling the dead guards, Tristan continued toward the end of the hallway. He saw Kivar whisk Lily into the room at the end of the hallway and slam the door in a weak attempt to bar Tristan from entering. He slowed his gait and adjusted the meter on the pulse pistol, then took aim at the doorknob. He shot and the door shattered off of its hinges, Lily’s scream filling his ears as he stepped into the room.
Kivar stood between he and Lily and Tristan scowled at his step-father. “Move aside,” Tristan commanded Kivar, aiming the pulse pistol at his king.
“You can’t harm me, Tristan. I molded you, shaped you into the man you’ve become. You cannot kill your king. You cannot kill me.”
“I most certainly can,” Tristan replied and fired the pulse pistol at Kivar’s chest. It was a direct hit and Kivar spun toward Lily, blue blood spurting out of his mouth and nose and seeping profusely from the hole in his chest.
On another note, this fic is almost over. I'm expecting to end it at 25 parts (3 longer than either Pathos or Chaos). I'm a little sad to see it end, which I guess is why I'm writing some short pieces based on this world.
Enjoy, and just know that it won't be too pretty for the next couple of parts.
JO
----------
PART TWENTY-ONE
Lily’s pale skin made her almost unrecognizable in the white flowing gown Kivar had instructed she wear. Tear stains marred her cheeks and her eyes appeared blood-shot. She had done nothing to cover up the fact that she was miserable, despite what Kivar had told her earlier in the day. Her feet moved toward Kivar only because they were being forced to by the same unknown male whose calloused hands had earlier caressed her shoulders. She felt her knees buckle, the man’s arm wrapping around her waist and hoisting her back to her feet, his grip on her upper arm tight.
The man deposited her beside Kivar who wrapped his arm around her waist to support her, and a man in a hooded robe began to speak in a language Lily didn’t understand. His slender fingers reached for her from beneath his robe, and Lily felt Kivar’s lips graze her cheek. She struggled against his hold but was unable to break free of him. Kivar spun them away from the hooded man and toward the doorway she had used to enter the large room. She tried to scream as Kivar walked them out of the room but her breath caught in her throat, tears streaming down her cheeks as the implications of what her destiny would be settled into her mind. She kicked against Kivar when they reached the hallway, and Kivar released her slightly from his grip as a loud explosion echoed through the base. She watched with wide eyes as Jase, Absalom, Tristan and Morgana ran into the hallway at the same, each pair coming from different directions. “Absalom,” she screamed, having finally found her voice. She flailed against Kivar’s hold and screamed Absalom’s name again. Smoke fill the hallway and she lost sight of Absalom and Jase, Kivar pulling her away from them despite her struggle against him.
* * *
Absalom and Jase ran into the main hallway of the base, surprised to see Tristan and Morgana arrive at the exact same time from a different hallway. Absalom’s eyes found Lily relatively easy, she already dressed in traditional Antarian dress, her face pale and gaunt, his father’s hand wrapped around her arm. He stepped toward Lily, her frantic cries filling his ears, as a bright light flashed toward him.
Instinctively, he placed his hands outward, creating the yellow shield he had never used except in training, and he felt a power surge hit against it. Opening his eyes, he saw Tristan on the opposite side of his shield, one surge of power aimed at him and the other aimed at Jase. Absalom turned to his left and saw Jase writhing in pain as the surge impacted his body. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to inch his way toward Jase, hoping to deflect some of Tristan’s powers onto his shield and protect Jase as much as possible. Before he had taken a single step, he felt a familiar presence penetrate his mind. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his mother, Max and Kyle, and he recognized the presence as Tess’ before the blackness pulled him under.
* * *
“They’re here,” Tess called, and she, Max and Kyle ran through the tunnel toward the noise. The tunnel opened up into an intersecting room, where several hallways met at one point. In one hallway, Tristan and Morgana stood together, Tristan’s smoky eyes wide as he focused his powers on Absalom and Jase. In front of Tess, Max and Kyle stood Absalom and Jase. Jase seemed to be absorbing most of Tristan’s power as Absalom was protected by his shield.
“He’s killing Jase,” Max screamed, he and Kyle stepping forward toward Jase. Tess heard Morgana scream and she closed her eyes in concentration, surprised to discover she had penetrated Absalom’s mind with so little effort. He fought her for a split second but Tess was able to overpower him, and knock him unconscious. She opened her eyes and watched as her son’s yellow shield dissolved and he fell to the ground beside Jase.
“Jase! Tess, do something!”
“Tristan,” Tess called when Morgana screamed again, and Tristan stopped his assault on Jase. “What are you doing, Tristan?”
“Hello, Mother. I’m surprised to see you here.” Tristan scowled at Tess, his right hand stopping Morgana from advancing to Jase’s side.
“Let me go,” Morgana cried as she thrashed against Tristan, and it was just the distraction Tess needed. She moved quickly and stood in front of Jase and Absalom as Tristan threw Morgana to the ground.
“You don’t have to do this,” Tess said as she stepped toward where Tristan and Morgana were, Max and Kyle behind her tending to Jase and Absalom. She looked over her shoulder for a moment, Absalom still motionless, as Tristan began to speak to her.
“We both know that I’m going to anyway, don’t we, Mother? All you had to do was to be truthful and none of this would have happened. Or maybe you shouldn’t have kidnapped Jase and Lily. You’d still have your husband and your children wouldn’t be such disappointments.”
“Tristan,” Tess called and a bright light flashed in front of her face. When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her back, Max and Kyle flanking her. She inhaled sharply and she felt a wetness pool in the small of her back. A cold chill began from her hands and drifted outward to her limbs, and she faintly recognized the feel of Kyle’s skin against hers.
“Just lie still, Tess,” Max commanded as he removed his jacket and began to roll his sleeves. “Kyle and I are here, and I’m going to heal you.”
“No,” Tess whispered and she blinked slowly. “You have to let this play out, Max. This is my destiny now. I’m just…I’m just sorry for everything that I’ve done. I…I’ve done horrible things. I…I’ve hurt so many people.”
“Stop talking, Tess,” Kyle said, and Tess felt his hand press against her forehead. She felt cold against Kyle’s warm skin and she glanced to her right, watching Max run his hands across her body with a look of intense concentration on his face. “You need to stop talking now so Max can heal you.”
“It’s too late for that,” Tess whispered as she turned toward Kyle, his gray eyes shining with unshed tears and Tess gave him a small smile.
“Hang on, Tess,” Max said and Tess felt pressure on her abdomen and inhaled sharply. Her memories flashed through her mind in fast forward, memories filled with Max, Kyle, Liz, Isabel, Kivar and her children, the last thought registering in her mind was of Absalom. She did not exhale as the spectrum of colors shrouded her eyes and faded to white.
* * *
Tristan ran down the hallway after Kivar and Lily, his hands expertly retrieving the pulse pistol he had hidden in the waistband of his pants. Morgana’s screams still echoed in his ears and the sight of his mother lying in a pool of her own blood flashed through his mind but he did not focus on those events; he simply focused on Lily and the satisfaction he would receive when he claimed her.
He rounded the slight turn in the hallway, a glimpse of Lily’s white gown disappearing around the turn, and it urged him forward. Two of Kivar’s infamous moord’ga stood guard, blocking Tristan’s path to Lily. He aimed his pistol at the smaller moord’ga first, aiming where Jabra had told him they were the weakest, the memory retained from his training at fifteen years old. The shot was quick and the moord’ga slumped against the wall; Tristan quickly shot the second moord’ga before the warrior had an opportunity to react.
Hurdling the dead guards, Tristan continued toward the end of the hallway. He saw Kivar whisk Lily into the room at the end of the hallway and slam the door in a weak attempt to bar Tristan from entering. He slowed his gait and adjusted the meter on the pulse pistol, then took aim at the doorknob. He shot and the door shattered off of its hinges, Lily’s scream filling his ears as he stepped into the room.
Kivar stood between he and Lily and Tristan scowled at his step-father. “Move aside,” Tristan commanded Kivar, aiming the pulse pistol at his king.
“You can’t harm me, Tristan. I molded you, shaped you into the man you’ve become. You cannot kill your king. You cannot kill me.”
“I most certainly can,” Tristan replied and fired the pulse pistol at Kivar’s chest. It was a direct hit and Kivar spun toward Lily, blue blood spurting out of his mouth and nose and seeping profusely from the hole in his chest.
Part 22
Many apologies for the lenghty delay. I'm not sure that I have a really good excuse (other than real life) so I'll just leave it at that and say that I hope I'm back for good.
Warning: Intense sexual situation (See Author's Note at the end of Part 22)
---------------
PART TWENTY-TWO
Lily looked horrified as she stepped away from Kivar’s fallen body. Her eyes were immediately filled with tears, not because she had actually loved Kivar but because the man holding the weapon that had killed him was Tristan.
“Hello, Lily,” he said quietly, stepping further and further into the room, closing the distance between them.
Lily nervously glanced around the room as she continued to back away from where Kivar now lay. She had to get away from Tristan. Given that he had just killed Kivar, she tried to silence the little voice inside her head that warned her to run as fast as she could. Her mind instantly wandered to her mother: what would her mother do, how would her mother escape. Liz Parker had been doing nothing but running from her enemies since Lily and her brother were born. Lily knew that if her mother could survive, she could too. Now it was just a matter of getting past Tristan.
“Do...don’t come any closer,” she cautioned, raising her hands defensively. What little powers she possessed were not guaranteed to work on command. Kivar had promised over and over that he would protect her to the end and that the need for her powers were insignificant. He had always made Lily feel that if she developed stronger powers, he would help her nurture them. He had never once gotten angry with her for their underdevelopment, which surprised her because mercy was not one of Kivar’s strongest traits.
“Your puny powers are no match for me.”
“But Kivar -”
“Kivar’s dead,” Tristan offered, turning slightly so Lily could see precisely that Kivar had not moved and would never move again. “He can’t help you now.”
“Wh...what do you want,” she squeaked, unaware that she was slowly backing herself into a corner. “Wh...why did you kill Kivar?”
“Ah,” Tristan said, a sadistic smile sweeping across his lips. “It was you.”
“What?”
“Your destiny, Lily. It’s the same reason Kivar was so patient with you. The same reason he would never allow any harm to come to you and where he failed.” He paused, turning back to Kivar’s lifeless body and firing the pulse into it again. Lily jumped and crossed her arms over her chest, willing herself to be strong and to stay focused. “I’ll be the one to protect you. I’ll be the one to love you now.”
Lily flinched as Tristan reached for her face and stroked her cheek lovingly. His blue eyes suddenly turned smoky gray and Lily steeled herself for the blow that never came. Instead, Tristan simply walked away from her and back to where Kivar’s body lay. Lily tightened her jaw and realized that because Tristan’s attention was focused elsewhere, she could escape. Kivar had placed guards outside the chamber doors when they entered and Lily prayed those guards were still alive and that they did not serve Tristan. She took three small steps away from the corner when Tristan aimed his weapon at her.
“You can’t leave, Lily. I won’t let you.”
“What do you want with me? I haven’t done anything to you,” she screamed, on the verge of tears. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, knowing that now was not the time to become emotional. Her mother certainly would never become emotional at a time like this and if she did, she’d never let the enemy know it. It was clear to her now that that was exactly what Tristan was - her enemy. He had killed Kivar, the king he served, his mother’s husband, in cold blood and was now holding her against her will.
“You will do something for me. It’s your destiny.”
“I...I don’t know what your talking about,” she answered slowly, summoning all the courage she possessed as she stepped closer to him.
“Yes, you do,” he snapped, his trademark sneer filtering across his lips. She almost gasp, remembering the first time she had seen that sneer was almost eight years earlier in Copper Summit, when she had begged Kivar for Jase’s life. “You are the prophesied one. You are the acrea and when you mate, your child will be all powerful.”
“How...how do you know that’s me? The raissonai is...is a thousand year old prophecy. It could be talking about any of us.”
“Well, Absalom and Jase won’t be available for some time for me to test my theory, and I know for a fact it’s not Morgana. She, unfortunately, cannot have children.”
“How do you know that,” Lily asked, instantly sorry for her inquiring mind when she saw the look in Tristan’s eyes.
“Because I tested this theory on her,” he said, stepping so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off his body. “I tested Morgana over and over and over.”
Lily flinched and felt the bile rise in her throat. She turned away from Tristan and remembered the vow she had made within the last ten minutes never to turn her back on Tristan again. He had killed Kivar from behind and he could just as easily kill her now. “But Morgana’s your sister.”
“Oh,” Tristan laughed as he dropped the pulse laser onto Kivar’s body. “Morgana was all too willing to accommodate me....and my desires.”
“You’re a monster,” Lily seethed, now unashamed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You cannot force the willing, dear Lily, and you too will soon be very willing for me to caress you and...love you. You can’t begin imagine the pleasures I could give you.”
“Nor do I want to,” she replied, lowering her head to the ground. She darted past him quickly and for a moment felt a brief sense of joy until she felt Tristan’s hand clasped firmly around her arm. He spun her toward him and possessively framed her face with his hands.
“This isn’t about what you want, Lily. This is about what I want. And right now, I want you.” He clamped his mouth down on hers so quickly she didn’t have time to fend him off. Their bodies crashed onto the bed specifically designed for her marriage to Kivar. Underneath Tristan’s weight, Lily squirmed and kicked. His mouth remained firmly attached to hers and she felt herself losing consciousness as her air supply began to run out. “Oh no,” Tristan said, raising himself off of her and helping her to sit up. “I want you conscious for this.”
The sneer appeared on his lips once again and Lily acted on her first impulse for the first time since Tristan trapped her in the room. She defiantly raked her nails against his cheek and flinched as blood spurted onto her white dress. Tristan laughed slightly as he wiped his hand over his face, healing himself and removing all traces of blood in a matter of seconds. “That will cost you, but I won’t make you pay tonight.”
He threw his body against hers and for the first time, Lily realized how aroused Tristan had become. She felt him throb and pulsate against her thigh, even through the thick material of her dress. “No,” she screamed and with all her might, she pushed him away from her. She slid toward the headboard of the bed as Tristan and half of the bodice of her dress fell onto the floor. She rolled from the bed onto her feet far away from Tristan, prepared to run even in her state of undress as far away from him as possible.
“Don’t fight me, Lily,” he said softly and Lily could have sworn for a split second she heard Absalom’s voice echo through the room. The sound disoriented her long enough so that Tristan was able to wrap her in his arms and pull them both onto the bed once again. “I love you. I want you.”
“You can’t,” she screamed again, beating his back, chest and face with her fists while she continued to struggle against his tight grip. “I...we have the same blood...the same father.”
“I’m afraid I can do this, Lily,” he replied through gritted teeth and Lily felt the under-layer of her dress pulled away from her body. She flinched as she felt his fingers graze her stomach as her underwear was torn, leaving her most vulnerable parts exposed to Tristan’s malignant eyes. She pushed against him with one hand, struggling with the other to cover herself.
“We have the same father,” she repeated, suddenly desperate to convince Tristan that they were indeed related and that she would not willingly participate in an incestuous relationship with him, in any relationship with him. She gasp as she felt the warmth of his flesh on her inner thigh, despite her feeble attempts to shield herself from him.
“The rumors of my paternal heritage have been greatly exaggerated,” Tristan offered, his face hovering over Lily’s. “We are not related because Max Evans is not my father.”
No one in the entire corridor heard the ghastly scream that followed.
----------------
Author's Note: Just to clarify, Lily screamed because of what Tristan said to her and the implications his words have on her, not because of anything he did to her. It's vague on purpose. jo
Warning: Intense sexual situation (See Author's Note at the end of Part 22)
---------------
PART TWENTY-TWO
Lily looked horrified as she stepped away from Kivar’s fallen body. Her eyes were immediately filled with tears, not because she had actually loved Kivar but because the man holding the weapon that had killed him was Tristan.
“Hello, Lily,” he said quietly, stepping further and further into the room, closing the distance between them.
Lily nervously glanced around the room as she continued to back away from where Kivar now lay. She had to get away from Tristan. Given that he had just killed Kivar, she tried to silence the little voice inside her head that warned her to run as fast as she could. Her mind instantly wandered to her mother: what would her mother do, how would her mother escape. Liz Parker had been doing nothing but running from her enemies since Lily and her brother were born. Lily knew that if her mother could survive, she could too. Now it was just a matter of getting past Tristan.
“Do...don’t come any closer,” she cautioned, raising her hands defensively. What little powers she possessed were not guaranteed to work on command. Kivar had promised over and over that he would protect her to the end and that the need for her powers were insignificant. He had always made Lily feel that if she developed stronger powers, he would help her nurture them. He had never once gotten angry with her for their underdevelopment, which surprised her because mercy was not one of Kivar’s strongest traits.
“Your puny powers are no match for me.”
“But Kivar -”
“Kivar’s dead,” Tristan offered, turning slightly so Lily could see precisely that Kivar had not moved and would never move again. “He can’t help you now.”
“Wh...what do you want,” she squeaked, unaware that she was slowly backing herself into a corner. “Wh...why did you kill Kivar?”
“Ah,” Tristan said, a sadistic smile sweeping across his lips. “It was you.”
“What?”
“Your destiny, Lily. It’s the same reason Kivar was so patient with you. The same reason he would never allow any harm to come to you and where he failed.” He paused, turning back to Kivar’s lifeless body and firing the pulse into it again. Lily jumped and crossed her arms over her chest, willing herself to be strong and to stay focused. “I’ll be the one to protect you. I’ll be the one to love you now.”
Lily flinched as Tristan reached for her face and stroked her cheek lovingly. His blue eyes suddenly turned smoky gray and Lily steeled herself for the blow that never came. Instead, Tristan simply walked away from her and back to where Kivar’s body lay. Lily tightened her jaw and realized that because Tristan’s attention was focused elsewhere, she could escape. Kivar had placed guards outside the chamber doors when they entered and Lily prayed those guards were still alive and that they did not serve Tristan. She took three small steps away from the corner when Tristan aimed his weapon at her.
“You can’t leave, Lily. I won’t let you.”
“What do you want with me? I haven’t done anything to you,” she screamed, on the verge of tears. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, knowing that now was not the time to become emotional. Her mother certainly would never become emotional at a time like this and if she did, she’d never let the enemy know it. It was clear to her now that that was exactly what Tristan was - her enemy. He had killed Kivar, the king he served, his mother’s husband, in cold blood and was now holding her against her will.
“You will do something for me. It’s your destiny.”
“I...I don’t know what your talking about,” she answered slowly, summoning all the courage she possessed as she stepped closer to him.
“Yes, you do,” he snapped, his trademark sneer filtering across his lips. She almost gasp, remembering the first time she had seen that sneer was almost eight years earlier in Copper Summit, when she had begged Kivar for Jase’s life. “You are the prophesied one. You are the acrea and when you mate, your child will be all powerful.”
“How...how do you know that’s me? The raissonai is...is a thousand year old prophecy. It could be talking about any of us.”
“Well, Absalom and Jase won’t be available for some time for me to test my theory, and I know for a fact it’s not Morgana. She, unfortunately, cannot have children.”
“How do you know that,” Lily asked, instantly sorry for her inquiring mind when she saw the look in Tristan’s eyes.
“Because I tested this theory on her,” he said, stepping so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off his body. “I tested Morgana over and over and over.”
Lily flinched and felt the bile rise in her throat. She turned away from Tristan and remembered the vow she had made within the last ten minutes never to turn her back on Tristan again. He had killed Kivar from behind and he could just as easily kill her now. “But Morgana’s your sister.”
“Oh,” Tristan laughed as he dropped the pulse laser onto Kivar’s body. “Morgana was all too willing to accommodate me....and my desires.”
“You’re a monster,” Lily seethed, now unashamed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You cannot force the willing, dear Lily, and you too will soon be very willing for me to caress you and...love you. You can’t begin imagine the pleasures I could give you.”
“Nor do I want to,” she replied, lowering her head to the ground. She darted past him quickly and for a moment felt a brief sense of joy until she felt Tristan’s hand clasped firmly around her arm. He spun her toward him and possessively framed her face with his hands.
“This isn’t about what you want, Lily. This is about what I want. And right now, I want you.” He clamped his mouth down on hers so quickly she didn’t have time to fend him off. Their bodies crashed onto the bed specifically designed for her marriage to Kivar. Underneath Tristan’s weight, Lily squirmed and kicked. His mouth remained firmly attached to hers and she felt herself losing consciousness as her air supply began to run out. “Oh no,” Tristan said, raising himself off of her and helping her to sit up. “I want you conscious for this.”
The sneer appeared on his lips once again and Lily acted on her first impulse for the first time since Tristan trapped her in the room. She defiantly raked her nails against his cheek and flinched as blood spurted onto her white dress. Tristan laughed slightly as he wiped his hand over his face, healing himself and removing all traces of blood in a matter of seconds. “That will cost you, but I won’t make you pay tonight.”
He threw his body against hers and for the first time, Lily realized how aroused Tristan had become. She felt him throb and pulsate against her thigh, even through the thick material of her dress. “No,” she screamed and with all her might, she pushed him away from her. She slid toward the headboard of the bed as Tristan and half of the bodice of her dress fell onto the floor. She rolled from the bed onto her feet far away from Tristan, prepared to run even in her state of undress as far away from him as possible.
“Don’t fight me, Lily,” he said softly and Lily could have sworn for a split second she heard Absalom’s voice echo through the room. The sound disoriented her long enough so that Tristan was able to wrap her in his arms and pull them both onto the bed once again. “I love you. I want you.”
“You can’t,” she screamed again, beating his back, chest and face with her fists while she continued to struggle against his tight grip. “I...we have the same blood...the same father.”
“I’m afraid I can do this, Lily,” he replied through gritted teeth and Lily felt the under-layer of her dress pulled away from her body. She flinched as she felt his fingers graze her stomach as her underwear was torn, leaving her most vulnerable parts exposed to Tristan’s malignant eyes. She pushed against him with one hand, struggling with the other to cover herself.
“We have the same father,” she repeated, suddenly desperate to convince Tristan that they were indeed related and that she would not willingly participate in an incestuous relationship with him, in any relationship with him. She gasp as she felt the warmth of his flesh on her inner thigh, despite her feeble attempts to shield herself from him.
“The rumors of my paternal heritage have been greatly exaggerated,” Tristan offered, his face hovering over Lily’s. “We are not related because Max Evans is not my father.”
No one in the entire corridor heard the ghastly scream that followed.
----------------
Author's Note: Just to clarify, Lily screamed because of what Tristan said to her and the implications his words have on her, not because of anything he did to her. It's vague on purpose. jo
Part 23
PART TWENTY-THREE
“Lily! Lily!” Max ran down the corridor where he had seen Kivar take Lily and where Tristan had followed them after attacking Tess. He hurdled two enormous creatures, and heard Kyle’s feet hit the ground moments after his.
With Kyle at his back, they cautiously stepped into the room at the end of the corridor, their weapons at the ready. It took Max only seconds to realize that he and Kyle were alone in the room, Lily and Tristan gone, Kivar’s lifeless body slumped at the foot of the bed. He stepped toward Kivar, lightly kicking him once he was within range, but his enemy did not move. Max dropped to his knee and turned the body over so he could see Kivar’s face. He was surprised to find that Kivar had been killed by a pulse pistol wound to the chest. Raking his hand down Kivar’s face, his first thought was for Absalom and how the boy would react knowing both of his parents had been killed by Tristan.
“Max,” Kyle said and Max turned his attention away from Kivar’s lifeless body to where Kyle stood at the edge of the bed, a pile of white at his feet. Kyle carefully picked the item up for closer inspection, Max sensing at once that Lily had worn the dress, or what remained of it. “Was this...a dress?”
“It was,” Max replied as he took the garment from Kyle, the front of the dress a gaping hole where the bodice should have been. “Lily was wearing this dress.”
“Here’s the rest of it,” Kyle remarked from the side of the bed and he presented what he held to Max. “This looks....this looks like...blood.”
“It is blood.” Max dropped his portion of the dress at the foot of the bed where he found it, taking Kyle’s for closer consideration.
“Whose blood is it? Is it…Lily’s?”
Max closed his eyes in concentration as a flash of his daughter and her struggle with Tristan played out for his mind’s eye. He watched as Lily raked her nails down Tristan’s face, his blood spurting onto the white dress, and how Tristan had ripped the dress from her body, forcing Lily to dress and escape with him. “It’s not Lily’s blood, it’s Tristan’s,” Max replied as he opened his eyes and dropped the garment to his feet. “They’re not here.”
“Well, we have to find them,” Kyle argued, strapping his weapon across his shoulder as he ran for the bedroom door. “We can catch them. They can’t be too far ahead of us.”
“We should wait.”
“What? Why? Haven’t we waited long enough? Lily can’t be more than an hour or so away. We can finally rescue her and reunite her with Liz.”
“I can’t find her, Kyle.”
“Yes, you can,” Kyle groaned as he walked toward where Max stood. “You can pick up a flash from her. You just did it with the dress.”
“We have to wait for Absalom and Jase,” Max replied, walking past Kyle. “Absalom is the one that will find Lily.”
* * *
Absalom awoke with a start and immediately pressed the palms of his hands to his temples, an indescribable noise pulsating through his brain. He shielded his eyes to the harsh lights of the room, attempting to quiet the noises in his head. Pressing his back against the wall, he used his legs to push himself to his feet, his hands braced against the wall for support. He saw two figures in the room with him and as his brain cleared, he recognized them as Morgana and Jase. “Where is Tristan,” he barked at Morgana, but she did not turn to face him. “Is Mother with him?”
“Mother’s dead,” Morgana screamed as she spun toward him still on her knees beside Jase’s body. Absalom stumbled several steps and fell onto the ground directly behind her.
“What?”
“Mother is dead,” Morgana replied again, her attention once again focused on Jase instead of Absalom. “Tristan killed her.”
“Where is Lily? What happened to Lily?”
“Tristan escaped with Lily,” Max replied as he and Kyle appeared in the corridor, Absalom and Morgana glancing upward at them from their seats on the ground.
“We have to find them,” Absalom said as he attempted to push himself to his feet only to fall back to the ground. Max stepped to help him, wrapping his arms around Absalom’s chest to pull him to his feet. “We have to go after them.”
“We will,” Max countered as he steadied Absalom then stepped away from him. “But first, we have to rest and regain strength, especially you and Jase.”
“Jase won’t wake up,” Morgana whispered. “Tristan tried to kill him and I can’t make him wake up.”
Max walked to his eldest son and knelt beside his body. Placing his palm on Jase’s arm, Max concentrated all of his energies on convincing Jase to wake up. After several seconds with no success, he turned his attention back to Kyle, Absalom and Morgana, surprised by how Tess’ daughter resembled her. “He has to heal himself, from the inside out. He’s not fighting me, but he’s not helping me either.” Max slowly stood to his feet. “We’ll wait here. Jase will wake up soon.”
“We should bury,” Kyle began, quickly pausing as he glanced toward Absalom.
“Tess,” Absalom answered for him. “You want to bury Tess.”
“And Kivar,” Max continued, his hand automatically grasping Absalom’s shoulder in an attempt at unspoken comfort as he and Kyle left the room.
* * *
“It just doesn’t seem real,” Kyle replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead as Max continued to fashion a crude headstone for Tess’ grave. “It doesn’t seem real that’s she’s gone.”
“Things haven’t seemed real for a very long time,” Max commented under his breath but he knew Kyle had heard him from the look on his former enemy’s face. “But it is strange to bury her.” Max rolled from his knees onto his feet and Kyle joined him at the head of Tess’ grave.
“We’ve had to bury so many, you know. Starting with Alex. I…I never imagined my life would turn out like this. I’ll bet you didn’t either.”
“No,” Max replied. “I never imagined my life like this.”
“She died for a good cause though,” Kyle said, his attempt to explain the situation a bold one. “She had been on the wrong side for so long and it wasn’t until now that she did something good.”
“She was just mislead, Kyle, influenced by the wrong people. First Nasedo, then Kivar, then Paj, but she did good things too. Look at Absalom. He was created by two of the people who wanted nothing more than to destroy me and my family.” Max paused as he stared at the fresh grave, Tess’ face and his memories of her playing like a movie through his mind. “Maybe things could have been different with Tess, but I don’t think I would have the things I have now.”
“No,” Kyle admitted, toeing a clump of dirt with his left boot. “And Tristan most certainly wouldn’t be my son.”
“What are you going to do when we catch Tristan and Lily? I’m taking my daughter back, Kyle. I don’t want to hurt Tristan but if he stands in the way -”
“I want to get to know my son, Evans. Maybe I can say or do something to change his mind about Lily, to get him to release her.”
“And what if you can’t?”
“Then we’ll deal with that when and if it happens.”
“Lily! Lily!” Max ran down the corridor where he had seen Kivar take Lily and where Tristan had followed them after attacking Tess. He hurdled two enormous creatures, and heard Kyle’s feet hit the ground moments after his.
With Kyle at his back, they cautiously stepped into the room at the end of the corridor, their weapons at the ready. It took Max only seconds to realize that he and Kyle were alone in the room, Lily and Tristan gone, Kivar’s lifeless body slumped at the foot of the bed. He stepped toward Kivar, lightly kicking him once he was within range, but his enemy did not move. Max dropped to his knee and turned the body over so he could see Kivar’s face. He was surprised to find that Kivar had been killed by a pulse pistol wound to the chest. Raking his hand down Kivar’s face, his first thought was for Absalom and how the boy would react knowing both of his parents had been killed by Tristan.
“Max,” Kyle said and Max turned his attention away from Kivar’s lifeless body to where Kyle stood at the edge of the bed, a pile of white at his feet. Kyle carefully picked the item up for closer inspection, Max sensing at once that Lily had worn the dress, or what remained of it. “Was this...a dress?”
“It was,” Max replied as he took the garment from Kyle, the front of the dress a gaping hole where the bodice should have been. “Lily was wearing this dress.”
“Here’s the rest of it,” Kyle remarked from the side of the bed and he presented what he held to Max. “This looks....this looks like...blood.”
“It is blood.” Max dropped his portion of the dress at the foot of the bed where he found it, taking Kyle’s for closer consideration.
“Whose blood is it? Is it…Lily’s?”
Max closed his eyes in concentration as a flash of his daughter and her struggle with Tristan played out for his mind’s eye. He watched as Lily raked her nails down Tristan’s face, his blood spurting onto the white dress, and how Tristan had ripped the dress from her body, forcing Lily to dress and escape with him. “It’s not Lily’s blood, it’s Tristan’s,” Max replied as he opened his eyes and dropped the garment to his feet. “They’re not here.”
“Well, we have to find them,” Kyle argued, strapping his weapon across his shoulder as he ran for the bedroom door. “We can catch them. They can’t be too far ahead of us.”
“We should wait.”
“What? Why? Haven’t we waited long enough? Lily can’t be more than an hour or so away. We can finally rescue her and reunite her with Liz.”
“I can’t find her, Kyle.”
“Yes, you can,” Kyle groaned as he walked toward where Max stood. “You can pick up a flash from her. You just did it with the dress.”
“We have to wait for Absalom and Jase,” Max replied, walking past Kyle. “Absalom is the one that will find Lily.”
* * *
Absalom awoke with a start and immediately pressed the palms of his hands to his temples, an indescribable noise pulsating through his brain. He shielded his eyes to the harsh lights of the room, attempting to quiet the noises in his head. Pressing his back against the wall, he used his legs to push himself to his feet, his hands braced against the wall for support. He saw two figures in the room with him and as his brain cleared, he recognized them as Morgana and Jase. “Where is Tristan,” he barked at Morgana, but she did not turn to face him. “Is Mother with him?”
“Mother’s dead,” Morgana screamed as she spun toward him still on her knees beside Jase’s body. Absalom stumbled several steps and fell onto the ground directly behind her.
“What?”
“Mother is dead,” Morgana replied again, her attention once again focused on Jase instead of Absalom. “Tristan killed her.”
“Where is Lily? What happened to Lily?”
“Tristan escaped with Lily,” Max replied as he and Kyle appeared in the corridor, Absalom and Morgana glancing upward at them from their seats on the ground.
“We have to find them,” Absalom said as he attempted to push himself to his feet only to fall back to the ground. Max stepped to help him, wrapping his arms around Absalom’s chest to pull him to his feet. “We have to go after them.”
“We will,” Max countered as he steadied Absalom then stepped away from him. “But first, we have to rest and regain strength, especially you and Jase.”
“Jase won’t wake up,” Morgana whispered. “Tristan tried to kill him and I can’t make him wake up.”
Max walked to his eldest son and knelt beside his body. Placing his palm on Jase’s arm, Max concentrated all of his energies on convincing Jase to wake up. After several seconds with no success, he turned his attention back to Kyle, Absalom and Morgana, surprised by how Tess’ daughter resembled her. “He has to heal himself, from the inside out. He’s not fighting me, but he’s not helping me either.” Max slowly stood to his feet. “We’ll wait here. Jase will wake up soon.”
“We should bury,” Kyle began, quickly pausing as he glanced toward Absalom.
“Tess,” Absalom answered for him. “You want to bury Tess.”
“And Kivar,” Max continued, his hand automatically grasping Absalom’s shoulder in an attempt at unspoken comfort as he and Kyle left the room.
* * *
“It just doesn’t seem real,” Kyle replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead as Max continued to fashion a crude headstone for Tess’ grave. “It doesn’t seem real that’s she’s gone.”
“Things haven’t seemed real for a very long time,” Max commented under his breath but he knew Kyle had heard him from the look on his former enemy’s face. “But it is strange to bury her.” Max rolled from his knees onto his feet and Kyle joined him at the head of Tess’ grave.
“We’ve had to bury so many, you know. Starting with Alex. I…I never imagined my life would turn out like this. I’ll bet you didn’t either.”
“No,” Max replied. “I never imagined my life like this.”
“She died for a good cause though,” Kyle said, his attempt to explain the situation a bold one. “She had been on the wrong side for so long and it wasn’t until now that she did something good.”
“She was just mislead, Kyle, influenced by the wrong people. First Nasedo, then Kivar, then Paj, but she did good things too. Look at Absalom. He was created by two of the people who wanted nothing more than to destroy me and my family.” Max paused as he stared at the fresh grave, Tess’ face and his memories of her playing like a movie through his mind. “Maybe things could have been different with Tess, but I don’t think I would have the things I have now.”
“No,” Kyle admitted, toeing a clump of dirt with his left boot. “And Tristan most certainly wouldn’t be my son.”
“What are you going to do when we catch Tristan and Lily? I’m taking my daughter back, Kyle. I don’t want to hurt Tristan but if he stands in the way -”
“I want to get to know my son, Evans. Maybe I can say or do something to change his mind about Lily, to get him to release her.”
“And what if you can’t?”
“Then we’ll deal with that when and if it happens.”
Part 24
PART TWENTY-FOUR
Morgana stood outside the room, keeping a silent vigil over Jase. Every so often, he would move or sigh and Morgana would rush to his side to make sure his pain wasn’t too great, connecting with him the second their skin touched. His mind was filled with thoughts of saving Lily and killing Tristan; Morgana wondered if his mind had always been plagued by these thoughts since her mother had brought he and Lily to Copper Summit.
Shaking herself back into the moment, she felt the familiar touch of Paj’s slender fingers caress her upper arm. Her stomach coiled at the thought of his hands on her skin, bile rising in her throat when she remembered what liberties she had allowed Paj to take with her at Tristan’s insistence.
“Go to him,” Paj whispered into her ear and Morgana jumped as his stale breath hit her, tickling her neck. “Take him.”
“He’s sick,” she argued, wrenching her arm away from his faint grip. “I’m here to make sure he’s okay, and for nothing else.”
“We both that’s not true,” Paj continued, once again at Morgana’s side, his mouth to her ear. “I know you really want him. He is just a human, Morgana. You can control him. You’re so much more powerful than he.”
“I’ve controlled him long enough! I’ve invaded his mind too many times and I’m finished doing that.”
“No,” Paj said, stepping around Morgana to her right side, allowing her a better view of Jase’s body. He pressed his hand to her lower stomach, his slender fingers wrapping around her womb. “He is too much like his father to shirk away from his responsibilities. Your conception would be instant.”
Morgana pressed her palms on top of Paj’s hand, tears suddenly misting in her eyes. “I can’t have children,” she admitted after several seconds, and roughly shoved Paj away from her, her eyes once again on Jase. “Tristan told me I couldn’t.”
“You believe Tristan?” A deep, evil laugh erupted from Paj’s throat and Morgana glared at him for a split second before Jase stirred. She stepped toward Jase but Paj grabbed her arm to restrain her. “Tristan would lie to anyone. He told you that you would be queen and Lily would be the whore, didn’t he?” He paused, releasing Morgana’s arm the second time she attempted to pull away from him. “Clearly, that was not his intention, especially if he and Lily have escaped and left you behind. A king would not abandon his queen.”
“Leave me alone. I’m tired of your games. I can make Jase Parker love me without the use of alien powers.”
“Yes, that is true, my dear, but once he discovers Larissa Valenti will be the mother of his child, he’ll soon forget you and the...fun...you two had.”
Morgana spun toward Paj, her blue eyes bright with unshed tears. “Jase is going to be a father? Does he know?”
“No,” Paj replied as he grabbed Morgana’s shoulders and turned her toward Jase once again. “Neither of them know. It’s too early for the child to make its presence known and some humans do lose their babies...”
“Stop,” Morgana cried, Jase stirring in response to her voice. “Just stop it!” Covering her face with her hands, she stepped into Jase’s room and closed the door behind her, silencing Paj’s verbal taunts but not the thoughts remaining in her mind.
* * *
The smell of the ocean filtered through his nostrils, reminding him of the week Liz had taken he and Lily to Santa Barbara. They had jumped the waves together and it was one of the earliest memories Jase had in which his mother looked truly happy. He felt strangely at peace, a feeling he had forgotten existed. Inhaling again, he allowed the ocean’s scents to filter through his senses, strands of curly, blonde hair blowing in front of his face.
He turned to his left and saw Morgana’s bright blue eyes trained on him. He smiled, she smiling in return and Jase looped his arm around her slender waist. Their bodies crashed together and before Jase could control the impulse, he was kissing her.
Her mouth tasted salty but Jase couldn’t get enough of her taste. His hands pawed at her smooth skin as the feel of her enveloped him. His back felt wet and for a moment he wondered if he were in the ocean with Morgana, their bodies slick as their feverish kisses continued. Something inside him swelled and he feared he would burst if this moment did not reach fruition. He withdrew his mouth from Morgana’s neck and brushed her hair away from her face so he could look at her, truly look at her in a way he hadn’t during one of these dreams. Her blue eyes were bright and Jase saw something in her eyes he had never seen before.
What clothing separated them was gone in an instant, and their bodies joined moments later.
* * *
Paj watched from the hallway as Morgana straddled Jase’s hips, his own body reacting to the sight of Morgana’s naked body. They had shared many nights together, he and Morgana, and he often dreamed of their encounters, certain that she would be astride him when he opened his eyes. Drawing his attention back to the present, he furrowed his brow as Jase turned them over, his view of Morgana completely blocked by Jase’s body.
Wiggling his slender fingers toward the couple, he smirked as Morgana once again emerged on top, and he watched with envy as Jase’s mouth traced paths similar to the ones he had expertly drawn on her skin. He continued to watch but he knew Morgana would not sense his presence as she had the first moment Paj had spied on her in this manner. Morgana was different now, and this encounter with Jase so unlike her encounter with Tristan. This encounter would create a child; this encounter would seal Morgana’s destiny. Paj smiled as he relished in the fact that he had successfully controlled another royal’s destiny.
“You cannot win, Paj. When will you accept that fact?”
“You underestimate your charges, Meran.” Paj opened the door wide as he turned around to face Meran. “You can see that you are clearly too late.”
Meran glanced at Morgana and Jase for a split second before willing the door to close. “Jase will change her. Morgana will not repeat Tess’ mistakes.”
Paj cackled as Meran’s words echoed through the hallway. “Morgana is her mother’s daughter, and this night will signal the beginning of the end of Jase Parker.”
A pink glow splayed from Meran’s fingertips moments before he rushed at Paj. Paj smirked triumphantly and rushed at Meran. The two beings hit each other squarely and a bright blue glow filled the hallway as their bodies collided. When the blue glow faded away, neither being remained.
* * *
Jase pressed his lips to Morgana’s forehead, a cool breeze filtering through the room. His heart raced in his chest and he felt Morgana sigh against him. Wrapping his arms around her, he smiled to himself, a new awareness inside his brain, a presence he could not identify. “Morgana,” he whispered as sleep threatened to claim him. He kissed her again, his hands drifting down her body to rest on her hips.
When Jase awoke, his shirt draped across his hips, Morgana and all traces of her presence were gone.
Morgana stood outside the room, keeping a silent vigil over Jase. Every so often, he would move or sigh and Morgana would rush to his side to make sure his pain wasn’t too great, connecting with him the second their skin touched. His mind was filled with thoughts of saving Lily and killing Tristan; Morgana wondered if his mind had always been plagued by these thoughts since her mother had brought he and Lily to Copper Summit.
Shaking herself back into the moment, she felt the familiar touch of Paj’s slender fingers caress her upper arm. Her stomach coiled at the thought of his hands on her skin, bile rising in her throat when she remembered what liberties she had allowed Paj to take with her at Tristan’s insistence.
“Go to him,” Paj whispered into her ear and Morgana jumped as his stale breath hit her, tickling her neck. “Take him.”
“He’s sick,” she argued, wrenching her arm away from his faint grip. “I’m here to make sure he’s okay, and for nothing else.”
“We both that’s not true,” Paj continued, once again at Morgana’s side, his mouth to her ear. “I know you really want him. He is just a human, Morgana. You can control him. You’re so much more powerful than he.”
“I’ve controlled him long enough! I’ve invaded his mind too many times and I’m finished doing that.”
“No,” Paj said, stepping around Morgana to her right side, allowing her a better view of Jase’s body. He pressed his hand to her lower stomach, his slender fingers wrapping around her womb. “He is too much like his father to shirk away from his responsibilities. Your conception would be instant.”
Morgana pressed her palms on top of Paj’s hand, tears suddenly misting in her eyes. “I can’t have children,” she admitted after several seconds, and roughly shoved Paj away from her, her eyes once again on Jase. “Tristan told me I couldn’t.”
“You believe Tristan?” A deep, evil laugh erupted from Paj’s throat and Morgana glared at him for a split second before Jase stirred. She stepped toward Jase but Paj grabbed her arm to restrain her. “Tristan would lie to anyone. He told you that you would be queen and Lily would be the whore, didn’t he?” He paused, releasing Morgana’s arm the second time she attempted to pull away from him. “Clearly, that was not his intention, especially if he and Lily have escaped and left you behind. A king would not abandon his queen.”
“Leave me alone. I’m tired of your games. I can make Jase Parker love me without the use of alien powers.”
“Yes, that is true, my dear, but once he discovers Larissa Valenti will be the mother of his child, he’ll soon forget you and the...fun...you two had.”
Morgana spun toward Paj, her blue eyes bright with unshed tears. “Jase is going to be a father? Does he know?”
“No,” Paj replied as he grabbed Morgana’s shoulders and turned her toward Jase once again. “Neither of them know. It’s too early for the child to make its presence known and some humans do lose their babies...”
“Stop,” Morgana cried, Jase stirring in response to her voice. “Just stop it!” Covering her face with her hands, she stepped into Jase’s room and closed the door behind her, silencing Paj’s verbal taunts but not the thoughts remaining in her mind.
* * *
The smell of the ocean filtered through his nostrils, reminding him of the week Liz had taken he and Lily to Santa Barbara. They had jumped the waves together and it was one of the earliest memories Jase had in which his mother looked truly happy. He felt strangely at peace, a feeling he had forgotten existed. Inhaling again, he allowed the ocean’s scents to filter through his senses, strands of curly, blonde hair blowing in front of his face.
He turned to his left and saw Morgana’s bright blue eyes trained on him. He smiled, she smiling in return and Jase looped his arm around her slender waist. Their bodies crashed together and before Jase could control the impulse, he was kissing her.
Her mouth tasted salty but Jase couldn’t get enough of her taste. His hands pawed at her smooth skin as the feel of her enveloped him. His back felt wet and for a moment he wondered if he were in the ocean with Morgana, their bodies slick as their feverish kisses continued. Something inside him swelled and he feared he would burst if this moment did not reach fruition. He withdrew his mouth from Morgana’s neck and brushed her hair away from her face so he could look at her, truly look at her in a way he hadn’t during one of these dreams. Her blue eyes were bright and Jase saw something in her eyes he had never seen before.
What clothing separated them was gone in an instant, and their bodies joined moments later.
* * *
Paj watched from the hallway as Morgana straddled Jase’s hips, his own body reacting to the sight of Morgana’s naked body. They had shared many nights together, he and Morgana, and he often dreamed of their encounters, certain that she would be astride him when he opened his eyes. Drawing his attention back to the present, he furrowed his brow as Jase turned them over, his view of Morgana completely blocked by Jase’s body.
Wiggling his slender fingers toward the couple, he smirked as Morgana once again emerged on top, and he watched with envy as Jase’s mouth traced paths similar to the ones he had expertly drawn on her skin. He continued to watch but he knew Morgana would not sense his presence as she had the first moment Paj had spied on her in this manner. Morgana was different now, and this encounter with Jase so unlike her encounter with Tristan. This encounter would create a child; this encounter would seal Morgana’s destiny. Paj smiled as he relished in the fact that he had successfully controlled another royal’s destiny.
“You cannot win, Paj. When will you accept that fact?”
“You underestimate your charges, Meran.” Paj opened the door wide as he turned around to face Meran. “You can see that you are clearly too late.”
Meran glanced at Morgana and Jase for a split second before willing the door to close. “Jase will change her. Morgana will not repeat Tess’ mistakes.”
Paj cackled as Meran’s words echoed through the hallway. “Morgana is her mother’s daughter, and this night will signal the beginning of the end of Jase Parker.”
A pink glow splayed from Meran’s fingertips moments before he rushed at Paj. Paj smirked triumphantly and rushed at Meran. The two beings hit each other squarely and a bright blue glow filled the hallway as their bodies collided. When the blue glow faded away, neither being remained.
* * *
Jase pressed his lips to Morgana’s forehead, a cool breeze filtering through the room. His heart raced in his chest and he felt Morgana sigh against him. Wrapping his arms around her, he smiled to himself, a new awareness inside his brain, a presence he could not identify. “Morgana,” he whispered as sleep threatened to claim him. He kissed her again, his hands drifting down her body to rest on her hips.
When Jase awoke, his shirt draped across his hips, Morgana and all traces of her presence were gone.
Last edited by JO on Sun Mar 21, 2004 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Part 25
PART TWENTY-FIVE
Absalom stood with his head bowed as the sun set behind him. He rolled Lily’s bracelet between his thumb and forefinger, his mind replaying the last moments he saw her. She looked gaunt and pale, but he felt like she had been happy to see them, despite her thin appearance.
He raised his eyes slightly to stare at the fresh graves of his parents. It was almost ironic to him that they were now buried side by side when he knew they had not been in the same location for almost ten years. He knew he should feel some kind of sadness because they were gone, especially when his mother had seemingly been working with Max to find Lily and restore the chaos she had once thrived in creating. His relationship with his father had always been strained but Absalom knew Kivar cared for Lily and had tried his best to protect her until the very end. Ironic again that both his mother and his father had been murdered by Tristan.
Avenging their deaths should be his priority - revenge was one of the main concepts that had been taught to him at an early age – but when he thought of Tristan, he didn’t think of him as the man that had killed his parents or his brother; he thought of Tristan as the man that had taken Lily and he felt anger coil around his heart in a way he had never experienced before.
“I’m sorry about Tess,” Max spoke from behind him and Absalom nodded his head in response, Lily’s bracelet still wound between his fingers. “Should you be out here? Maybe you should rest.”
“I can’t,” Absalom replied, his voice trembling.
“You aren’t completely well, Absalom.” Max placed his hand on Absalom’s shoulder, gently directing Absalom to turn away from the graves. “We are going to need your strength now more than ever. Both you and Jase need to rest.”
Movement at the compound caught Absalom’s eyes and he watched as Jase emerged from the building with Kyle’s help. “I’m fine,” Absalom refuted flatly. “I’m ready to find Lily.”
“We don’t know where she is,” Max admitted, he too watching as Kyle helped Jase into the old pick-up truck. “Jase tried to connect with her but he couldn’t.”
“Do you want me to try?”
“I don’t know. Jase was feeling better until he tried to connect with Lily. I don’t want you to have a relapse or pass out.”
“I won’t,” Absalom said as he tenderly held Lily’s bracelet with both hands and closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds, he felt her sitting beside him. Absalom opened his eyes and stared at Lily. Her clothes were oversized and dirty, her face smuged with dirt but in her eyes, Absalom saw an anger he didn’t know could exist within her. She held onto the car door with both hands, her eyes keenly trained on Tristan, Absalom sitting between them on the bench seat.
* * *
Lily held onto the car door handle with all of her might as Tristan drove the car on the bumpy desert road. They had been on this road for almost an hour, Tristan’s hands locked on the steering wheel to keep the car as steady as possible. They drove through a ditch and Lily bounced in her seat, her head hitting the roof of the car. She turned toward Tristan, itching to scream at him but she held her tongue, her mind uncertain of what he might do to her despite his insistence he wouldn’t harm her. She exhaled and allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of Absalom.
“He’s not coming for you,” Tristan growled. “No one is coming for you.”
“You don’t know that,” Lily shot back, the anger in her voice unmistakable. “Jase and Absalom and my father are coming for me.”
“Jase and Absalom are dead.”
Lily turned her head toward Tristan, her eyes wide in anger. Tears pooled in them without her consent. “They aren’t dead. I would know it. I would feel it.” She tightened her grip on the door handle, suddenly thankful she was not the type of person to act on her initial impulses, particularly where Tristan was involved. Electricity crackled beneath her fingertips and Lily tightened her jaw in an attempt to keep her emotions under control.
Tristan gave a bitter laugh in response, the laugh echoing through the car. “I should know if my own brother is dead, Lily. I killed him and your brother. They’re dead. You should accept that no one will ever be coming for you. You are mine forever.”
Lily opened her mouth to respond when she felt a familiar presence in the car with she and Tristan. She gave a small half-smile, realizing at once it was Absalom – that he was alive, that he was coming for her. Tucson, she whispered in her mind the moment she felt Absalom’s presence flash through her brain. He’s taking me to Tucson. Please hurry. I’ll be strong for you. She felt no response from him and his presence gently faded after a few seconds. Tightening her jaw again, Lily realized that the moment had been enough and that she would be strong until Absalom came for her.
* * *
Absalom opened his eyes and met Max’s amber ones immediately, the one feature Lily and her father shared. “He’s taking her to Tucson.”
“Then we need to hurry,” Max said as he brushed past Absalom and began to jog toward the pick-up truck. “Kyle! Start the truck!”
Absalom ran after Max, a million questions zooming through his brain. “What’s going on? Why do we need to hurry?”
“What’s up, Evans?”
“Get in,” Max instructed to Absalom before he turned to Kyle. “We have to go to Tucson.”
“Then let’s go,” Kyle replied, slapping his palm against the tailgate of the truck as he ran to the driver’s side.
“What’s going on,” Absalom repeated.
“What’s wrong, Dad,” Jase questioned as he moved toward Kyle to allow Absalom and Max into the truck.
“We just have to go to Tucson because Lily is in more danger than any of us originally thought.”
“What do you mean,” Absalom pressed as he and Max climbed into the pick-up truck, Kyle cranking the engine to life as Max slammed the passenger door behind him. “Just tell us, Max. We have a right to know why Tucson is dangerous.”
“Tucson is where Tess hid the granolith,” Max replied with a heavy sigh. “Let’s go, Kyle. We’ve got to hurry.”
* * *
“What is this thing we’re looking for, this…gran -”
“It’s called a granolith,” Tristan corrected as he held his palms downward against the desert earth.
“What is it,” Lily continued as she watched Tristan walk in circles, pausing every couple of steps to drop to his knees onto the ground. “And if it’s so important, why is it buried in the middle of the desert?”
“The granolith has been many things to many beings. It was once a religious icon on Antar. Nicholas used to say it would have healed the original skins here on Earth. Kivar thought of it as a symbol of power and wanted to take it away from your father. But we’ll be using it,” Tristan replied, a sadistic smile on his face as he fell to his knees and drove his hands into the ground, “to travel to Antar and claim the throne. Dig,” he commanded, removing his hands from the ground long enough to pull Lily to his side.
“You can’t claim the throne because you aren’t the son of an Antarian king,” Lily argued. “Sharon taught me about Antar and the original conflict there. I know many of the courtly rules and this is one that you cannot break. You are not Kivar’s son or my father’s son so you cannot claim the throne for yourself.”
Tristan crawled to her and rose to his knees so he was taller than Lily. Before Lily had time to react, Tristan’s hand was against her scalp, heat and red desert soil ground into her brown tresses. “As the acrea,” Tristan whispered as he applied pressure to Lily’s skull, “you can claim the throne and I’ll rule Antar with you by my side.” He shoved her and she fell forward onto the ground. “Now dig!”
* * *
She emerged from the car slowly, her stomach already showing the effects of their one night together. Scanning Acorn Street, she began walking where her instincts told her to go. The entire town smelled like him and Morgana allowed a moment for that intoxicating scent to run through her. Her stomach quivered, causing her to smile, and she placed her palms against her flesh where she knew their son grew.
She walked straight toward the simple rancher she had seen during her many invasions of Jase’s mind and she knew this was Larissa Valenti’s house. Ringing the doorbell, she was not surprised to find a curly-haired brunette open the door. “Can I help you,” the brunette questioned with a smile.
Morgana’s eyes fell to the girl’s stomach and her blue eyes misted as she remembered the life that grew there. “I hope so,” Morgana replied, tears openly streaming down her face as she raised her head and looked the girl in the eyes. “I have some news…about Jase Parker.”
Absalom stood with his head bowed as the sun set behind him. He rolled Lily’s bracelet between his thumb and forefinger, his mind replaying the last moments he saw her. She looked gaunt and pale, but he felt like she had been happy to see them, despite her thin appearance.
He raised his eyes slightly to stare at the fresh graves of his parents. It was almost ironic to him that they were now buried side by side when he knew they had not been in the same location for almost ten years. He knew he should feel some kind of sadness because they were gone, especially when his mother had seemingly been working with Max to find Lily and restore the chaos she had once thrived in creating. His relationship with his father had always been strained but Absalom knew Kivar cared for Lily and had tried his best to protect her until the very end. Ironic again that both his mother and his father had been murdered by Tristan.
Avenging their deaths should be his priority - revenge was one of the main concepts that had been taught to him at an early age – but when he thought of Tristan, he didn’t think of him as the man that had killed his parents or his brother; he thought of Tristan as the man that had taken Lily and he felt anger coil around his heart in a way he had never experienced before.
“I’m sorry about Tess,” Max spoke from behind him and Absalom nodded his head in response, Lily’s bracelet still wound between his fingers. “Should you be out here? Maybe you should rest.”
“I can’t,” Absalom replied, his voice trembling.
“You aren’t completely well, Absalom.” Max placed his hand on Absalom’s shoulder, gently directing Absalom to turn away from the graves. “We are going to need your strength now more than ever. Both you and Jase need to rest.”
Movement at the compound caught Absalom’s eyes and he watched as Jase emerged from the building with Kyle’s help. “I’m fine,” Absalom refuted flatly. “I’m ready to find Lily.”
“We don’t know where she is,” Max admitted, he too watching as Kyle helped Jase into the old pick-up truck. “Jase tried to connect with her but he couldn’t.”
“Do you want me to try?”
“I don’t know. Jase was feeling better until he tried to connect with Lily. I don’t want you to have a relapse or pass out.”
“I won’t,” Absalom said as he tenderly held Lily’s bracelet with both hands and closed his eyes. In a matter of seconds, he felt her sitting beside him. Absalom opened his eyes and stared at Lily. Her clothes were oversized and dirty, her face smuged with dirt but in her eyes, Absalom saw an anger he didn’t know could exist within her. She held onto the car door with both hands, her eyes keenly trained on Tristan, Absalom sitting between them on the bench seat.
* * *
Lily held onto the car door handle with all of her might as Tristan drove the car on the bumpy desert road. They had been on this road for almost an hour, Tristan’s hands locked on the steering wheel to keep the car as steady as possible. They drove through a ditch and Lily bounced in her seat, her head hitting the roof of the car. She turned toward Tristan, itching to scream at him but she held her tongue, her mind uncertain of what he might do to her despite his insistence he wouldn’t harm her. She exhaled and allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of Absalom.
“He’s not coming for you,” Tristan growled. “No one is coming for you.”
“You don’t know that,” Lily shot back, the anger in her voice unmistakable. “Jase and Absalom and my father are coming for me.”
“Jase and Absalom are dead.”
Lily turned her head toward Tristan, her eyes wide in anger. Tears pooled in them without her consent. “They aren’t dead. I would know it. I would feel it.” She tightened her grip on the door handle, suddenly thankful she was not the type of person to act on her initial impulses, particularly where Tristan was involved. Electricity crackled beneath her fingertips and Lily tightened her jaw in an attempt to keep her emotions under control.
Tristan gave a bitter laugh in response, the laugh echoing through the car. “I should know if my own brother is dead, Lily. I killed him and your brother. They’re dead. You should accept that no one will ever be coming for you. You are mine forever.”
Lily opened her mouth to respond when she felt a familiar presence in the car with she and Tristan. She gave a small half-smile, realizing at once it was Absalom – that he was alive, that he was coming for her. Tucson, she whispered in her mind the moment she felt Absalom’s presence flash through her brain. He’s taking me to Tucson. Please hurry. I’ll be strong for you. She felt no response from him and his presence gently faded after a few seconds. Tightening her jaw again, Lily realized that the moment had been enough and that she would be strong until Absalom came for her.
* * *
Absalom opened his eyes and met Max’s amber ones immediately, the one feature Lily and her father shared. “He’s taking her to Tucson.”
“Then we need to hurry,” Max said as he brushed past Absalom and began to jog toward the pick-up truck. “Kyle! Start the truck!”
Absalom ran after Max, a million questions zooming through his brain. “What’s going on? Why do we need to hurry?”
“What’s up, Evans?”
“Get in,” Max instructed to Absalom before he turned to Kyle. “We have to go to Tucson.”
“Then let’s go,” Kyle replied, slapping his palm against the tailgate of the truck as he ran to the driver’s side.
“What’s going on,” Absalom repeated.
“What’s wrong, Dad,” Jase questioned as he moved toward Kyle to allow Absalom and Max into the truck.
“We just have to go to Tucson because Lily is in more danger than any of us originally thought.”
“What do you mean,” Absalom pressed as he and Max climbed into the pick-up truck, Kyle cranking the engine to life as Max slammed the passenger door behind him. “Just tell us, Max. We have a right to know why Tucson is dangerous.”
“Tucson is where Tess hid the granolith,” Max replied with a heavy sigh. “Let’s go, Kyle. We’ve got to hurry.”
* * *
“What is this thing we’re looking for, this…gran -”
“It’s called a granolith,” Tristan corrected as he held his palms downward against the desert earth.
“What is it,” Lily continued as she watched Tristan walk in circles, pausing every couple of steps to drop to his knees onto the ground. “And if it’s so important, why is it buried in the middle of the desert?”
“The granolith has been many things to many beings. It was once a religious icon on Antar. Nicholas used to say it would have healed the original skins here on Earth. Kivar thought of it as a symbol of power and wanted to take it away from your father. But we’ll be using it,” Tristan replied, a sadistic smile on his face as he fell to his knees and drove his hands into the ground, “to travel to Antar and claim the throne. Dig,” he commanded, removing his hands from the ground long enough to pull Lily to his side.
“You can’t claim the throne because you aren’t the son of an Antarian king,” Lily argued. “Sharon taught me about Antar and the original conflict there. I know many of the courtly rules and this is one that you cannot break. You are not Kivar’s son or my father’s son so you cannot claim the throne for yourself.”
Tristan crawled to her and rose to his knees so he was taller than Lily. Before Lily had time to react, Tristan’s hand was against her scalp, heat and red desert soil ground into her brown tresses. “As the acrea,” Tristan whispered as he applied pressure to Lily’s skull, “you can claim the throne and I’ll rule Antar with you by my side.” He shoved her and she fell forward onto the ground. “Now dig!”
* * *
She emerged from the car slowly, her stomach already showing the effects of their one night together. Scanning Acorn Street, she began walking where her instincts told her to go. The entire town smelled like him and Morgana allowed a moment for that intoxicating scent to run through her. Her stomach quivered, causing her to smile, and she placed her palms against her flesh where she knew their son grew.
She walked straight toward the simple rancher she had seen during her many invasions of Jase’s mind and she knew this was Larissa Valenti’s house. Ringing the doorbell, she was not surprised to find a curly-haired brunette open the door. “Can I help you,” the brunette questioned with a smile.
Morgana’s eyes fell to the girl’s stomach and her blue eyes misted as she remembered the life that grew there. “I hope so,” Morgana replied, tears openly streaming down her face as she raised her head and looked the girl in the eyes. “I have some news…about Jase Parker.”
Last edited by JO on Tue May 11, 2004 4:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Part 26
Again, sorry for the delay. I think I'm on a roll now, mainly because the end is very clearly in sight. Only 2 more parts...
JO
----------
PART TWENTY-SIX
“What kind of news,” Larissa questioned and Morgana noticed her knuckles growing white as she clung to the front door. “Is Jase here? Is he with you?” Larissa stepped onto the landing, looking past Morgana for signs of Jase.
“No, he’s not with me, but he’ll be here soon enough. He sent me to find you, to talk to you.” Morgana watched as Larissa seemingly allowed this explanation to penetrate her brain. Sighing inwardly, Morgana began another approach. “Jase wanted me to find you so I can take you to him.”
“Oh,” Larissa exclaimed, a wide smile on her face, and Morgana frowned as she realized what a pretty girl Larissa was. Her long curly hair hung loose around her face, her tiny dot of a nose pleasantly appealing; it was easy for Morgana to see how Jase had come to love this girl. Closing her eyes, she felt Jase’s hands grab her breasts, his hips bucking against hers, his mouth whispering words she had often heard from men but his containing actual truth. They were perfect for one another, almost as if they had been specifically created to be together, two halves of a whole. Morgana was almost certain Jase did not feel that same passion when he and Larissa were together, that no other woman could make Jase feel the way she could, but she knew it was not her decision to make. Jase would have to choose. “Did you hear me,” Larissa questioned, her hand firmly on Morgana’s shoulder, gently shaking her.
Morgana focused on Larissa, her hand automatically cupping her lower abdomen where Jase’s son lay. “What?”
“I need to leave my family a note. I’ll be right back.”
“No,” Morgana quickly countered as she grabbed for Larissa’s hands. “There isn’t much time. We should go. You and Jase will be back here soon.”
“Okay,” Larissa replied, and she followed Morgana to the blue car parked across the street from her house.
* * *
“We’re going to the desert,” Larissa asked in a low voice, Morgana’s blue car travelling down 285 South out of Roswell. “And Jase knows I’ll be here?”
Morgana simply nodded as she turned the car off the main highway and onto a shallow desert road. “I found your sister here,” Morgana said after several moments of silence, the car bouncing on the earthy terrain.
“What?”
“Your sister. She was lost in the desert. I found her.”
“You…you’re the one,” Larissa screeched and Morgana turned toward her, surprised to see her previous calm shatter so quickly. “You’re Tess Harding’s daughter. You…you killed my sister!”
“No, but I hurt her,” Morgana admitted while slowing the car to a halt and turning off the engine. “I found your sister in the desert. I…I hurt her pretty badly, and then took her to Tristan. Tristan killed your sister, not me.”
“But you took her to him. You had to have known what he would do to her.”
“Yes, I knew.”
“Are you going to kill me? Is that why you brought me out here? To hurt me like you hurt my sister then have Tristan kill me?”
“Tristan isn’t here,” Morgana said with a scowl, rolling down her window. “I doubt I’ll ever see him again.” She turned toward Larissa and pressed her palm to Larissa’s cheek. “I’m different now, Larissa. I’m not going to kill you.” She leaned across the bucket seat toward Larissa and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. She felt Larissa freeze underneath her touch but quickly settled back onto her side of the car, fighting the impulse that told her to crush Larissa’s skull with her bare hands.
“Then why did you bring me here?”
“Because you have something I want.”
“Whatever it is,” Larissa said as she grabbed onto Morgana’s right hand, “I’ll give it to you. Just don’t hurt me. Please.”
“It’s not up to you or me,” Morgana replied, gently removing her hand from Larissa’s tight grasp. “We have to wait for Jase.”
* * *
“Turn here,” Absalom shouted and Kyle whipped the truck onto a faint desert trail, narrowly missing a large ditch on the right side of the road. “She’s close. I can feel her.”
“And you’re sure,” Max questioned, his hands bracing against the dashboard of the truck as Kyle sped down the road.
“If Ab thinks Lily’s here, Dad, you should believe him.”
Max turned to his left and nodded at Jase, unable to control the undercurrent of emotions he felt as he watched his son and the man who loved his daughter focus their energies on rescuing her. He turned his attention straight ahead, not surprised to see an old tan car parked sideways several yards ahead of them. Kyle turned off the motor and allowed the truck to coast to a halt, Max’s door already ajar before the truck officially came to a stop. He could see two individuals digging just ahead, and he had to assume they were Lily and Tristan.
The four of them quietly exited the truck, Kyle grabbing Max’s arm as Jase and Absalom walked ahead of them. “Before you do anything, let me talk to him.”
“Kyle -”
“He’s my son, Max, and I don’t want him to be hurt if I can prevent it. At least give me that.”
“Okay,” Max agreed, and he and Kyle increased their pace to catch up to Absalom and Jase.
“You look pretty good for dead people,” Tristan quipped as he pulled himself out of a ditch. He bent at the waist and extended his arm, pulling Lily out of the same ditch but he did not release her when they were on level ground.
“We just want Lily,” Kyle began, inching closer to Tristan, their respective groups separated by the ditch. “You can have the granolith.”
“What makes you think the granolith is worth a damn without Lily, Dad?” Tristan threw his head backwards and laughed loudly, snaking his arm around Lily’s waist. “Lily is the acrea. And on Antar, the acrea can have whatever she wants.”
“How do you know the granolith still works,” Max interrupted while Kyle continued to inch closer toward Tristan. “It’s been buried here for over twenty years, and it obviously crashed, if it ever really flew in the first place.”
“I can make it work,” Tristan said, the arrogance in his voice undeniable. “Besides, you don’t really even know if it actually flew out of Roswell. The entire pod chamber incident could have been one elaborate mindwarp.”
“You’re right,” Kyle continued and Max frowned as Tristan’s focus shifted from he to Kyle. “Tess’s mindwarps were very good.”
“That’s right,” Tristan replied. “You don’t even remember having sex with my mother. I don’t really understand how that’s possible since I’ve been told she was very skilled in that area. Is that true, Max? Was my mother a good lay?”
Absalom took a step forward as Tristan’s laugh echoed through their immediate surroundings, his forward progress stopped only by Jase’s firm grip on his shoulder. “Don’t play into his game,” Jase cautioned, and Absalom stared at Lily, surprised to find her watching his every movement.
“Just give us Lily,” Max replied.
“I’m sorry but I can’t do that.”
“Tristan,” Kyle began but his voice was silenced by a deafening boom shooting through the desert. Clutching his stomach, Kyle fell face first into the dust.
“Absalom!”
“Tristan,” Max screamed once Lily shouted Absalom’s name. His mind was in four different places at once; he stood to lose all those he cared about at Tristan’s hand if the situation sparked in a firestorm. He ran toward where Kyle had fallen only to be caught in some kind of invisible shield. Staring across the granolith pit at Tristan, he was relieved to see Lily scramble away from him and run toward where Absalom and Jase stood.
Max saw Jase rush at Tristan from his blind side and tackle him, both men rolling toward the granolith pit. With Tristan’s concentration focused elsewhere, whatever shield that had bound Max disappeared, and he dropped to his knees. He scrambled to the edge of the granolith pit and watched as Jase placed his hand on Tristan’s chest. A primal scream he had never heard before erupted from his son’s throat and within moments, Tristan’s lifeless body crumpled at Jase’s feet.
He dropped into the ditch, his eyes focused on Jase the entire time as he walked the circumference to Jase’s side. “Jase? Are you okay? It’s me, son. We’re okay now.”
“Did Ab get Lily,” Jase questioned, Max’s arm around his waist to steady him.
“Let’s get out of here, Jase.”
“Okay, Dad. Let’s go home.”
* * *
“Absalom!”
Jase watched as Lily somehow escaped from Tristan’s side, her thin legs pounding against the desert as she ran toward where he and Absalom stood. “Take Lily to the truck,” Jase screamed as he ran past Lily toward Tristan. He saw Max caught by some of Tristan’s mind control and Kyle lay unmoving at the edge of the granolith pit. “Go, Ab! Get her out of here!”
“Jase,” Lily cried, her brother’s face an angry contortion of emotion when he ran past her at Tristan. She lunged for Jase as they passed but was unable to grab onto any of his clothing.
With cat-like reflexes, Jase pounced on Tristan and the two men rolled into the pit where Jase assumed the granolith was buried. He saw his father stir out of the corner of his eye, and landed a right hand against Tristan’s jaw. Screaming, he placed his hand against Tristan’s chest, some unconscious part of his brain forcing his actions. A heat rose from his palms and Jase never took his eyes away from Tristan’s face until Tristan’s eyes closed for good and he fell to the ground. His heart beat a steady pulse in his ears and he felt his father’s arm wrap around his waist.
“Let’s get out of here, Jase.”
“Okay, Dad. Let’s go home.”
* * *
“Jase,” Lily cried when he ran past her toward Tristan, her desperate attempt to grab him in vain. “No, Jase!” She retreated from Absalom, taking two small steps after her brother when she felt Absalom’s cool touch on her skin.
“Let’s go, Lily.”
She allowed Absalom to lead her away from the granolith but she did not take her eyes off Jase or her father, seemingly frozen by Tristan’s power. They ran almost twenty-five yards and when Lily could no longer see Jase or her father, she turned her attention to Absalom. “Am I dreaming? Are you really here?” She reached for his face, her fingers inching around the back of his neck.
“I’m here,” Absalom replied, pulling her thin body against his chest. He felt her sigh against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead. “And we’ll never be apart again.”
JO
----------
PART TWENTY-SIX
“What kind of news,” Larissa questioned and Morgana noticed her knuckles growing white as she clung to the front door. “Is Jase here? Is he with you?” Larissa stepped onto the landing, looking past Morgana for signs of Jase.
“No, he’s not with me, but he’ll be here soon enough. He sent me to find you, to talk to you.” Morgana watched as Larissa seemingly allowed this explanation to penetrate her brain. Sighing inwardly, Morgana began another approach. “Jase wanted me to find you so I can take you to him.”
“Oh,” Larissa exclaimed, a wide smile on her face, and Morgana frowned as she realized what a pretty girl Larissa was. Her long curly hair hung loose around her face, her tiny dot of a nose pleasantly appealing; it was easy for Morgana to see how Jase had come to love this girl. Closing her eyes, she felt Jase’s hands grab her breasts, his hips bucking against hers, his mouth whispering words she had often heard from men but his containing actual truth. They were perfect for one another, almost as if they had been specifically created to be together, two halves of a whole. Morgana was almost certain Jase did not feel that same passion when he and Larissa were together, that no other woman could make Jase feel the way she could, but she knew it was not her decision to make. Jase would have to choose. “Did you hear me,” Larissa questioned, her hand firmly on Morgana’s shoulder, gently shaking her.
Morgana focused on Larissa, her hand automatically cupping her lower abdomen where Jase’s son lay. “What?”
“I need to leave my family a note. I’ll be right back.”
“No,” Morgana quickly countered as she grabbed for Larissa’s hands. “There isn’t much time. We should go. You and Jase will be back here soon.”
“Okay,” Larissa replied, and she followed Morgana to the blue car parked across the street from her house.
* * *
“We’re going to the desert,” Larissa asked in a low voice, Morgana’s blue car travelling down 285 South out of Roswell. “And Jase knows I’ll be here?”
Morgana simply nodded as she turned the car off the main highway and onto a shallow desert road. “I found your sister here,” Morgana said after several moments of silence, the car bouncing on the earthy terrain.
“What?”
“Your sister. She was lost in the desert. I found her.”
“You…you’re the one,” Larissa screeched and Morgana turned toward her, surprised to see her previous calm shatter so quickly. “You’re Tess Harding’s daughter. You…you killed my sister!”
“No, but I hurt her,” Morgana admitted while slowing the car to a halt and turning off the engine. “I found your sister in the desert. I…I hurt her pretty badly, and then took her to Tristan. Tristan killed your sister, not me.”
“But you took her to him. You had to have known what he would do to her.”
“Yes, I knew.”
“Are you going to kill me? Is that why you brought me out here? To hurt me like you hurt my sister then have Tristan kill me?”
“Tristan isn’t here,” Morgana said with a scowl, rolling down her window. “I doubt I’ll ever see him again.” She turned toward Larissa and pressed her palm to Larissa’s cheek. “I’m different now, Larissa. I’m not going to kill you.” She leaned across the bucket seat toward Larissa and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. She felt Larissa freeze underneath her touch but quickly settled back onto her side of the car, fighting the impulse that told her to crush Larissa’s skull with her bare hands.
“Then why did you bring me here?”
“Because you have something I want.”
“Whatever it is,” Larissa said as she grabbed onto Morgana’s right hand, “I’ll give it to you. Just don’t hurt me. Please.”
“It’s not up to you or me,” Morgana replied, gently removing her hand from Larissa’s tight grasp. “We have to wait for Jase.”
* * *
“Turn here,” Absalom shouted and Kyle whipped the truck onto a faint desert trail, narrowly missing a large ditch on the right side of the road. “She’s close. I can feel her.”
“And you’re sure,” Max questioned, his hands bracing against the dashboard of the truck as Kyle sped down the road.
“If Ab thinks Lily’s here, Dad, you should believe him.”
Max turned to his left and nodded at Jase, unable to control the undercurrent of emotions he felt as he watched his son and the man who loved his daughter focus their energies on rescuing her. He turned his attention straight ahead, not surprised to see an old tan car parked sideways several yards ahead of them. Kyle turned off the motor and allowed the truck to coast to a halt, Max’s door already ajar before the truck officially came to a stop. He could see two individuals digging just ahead, and he had to assume they were Lily and Tristan.
The four of them quietly exited the truck, Kyle grabbing Max’s arm as Jase and Absalom walked ahead of them. “Before you do anything, let me talk to him.”
“Kyle -”
“He’s my son, Max, and I don’t want him to be hurt if I can prevent it. At least give me that.”
“Okay,” Max agreed, and he and Kyle increased their pace to catch up to Absalom and Jase.
“You look pretty good for dead people,” Tristan quipped as he pulled himself out of a ditch. He bent at the waist and extended his arm, pulling Lily out of the same ditch but he did not release her when they were on level ground.
“We just want Lily,” Kyle began, inching closer to Tristan, their respective groups separated by the ditch. “You can have the granolith.”
“What makes you think the granolith is worth a damn without Lily, Dad?” Tristan threw his head backwards and laughed loudly, snaking his arm around Lily’s waist. “Lily is the acrea. And on Antar, the acrea can have whatever she wants.”
“How do you know the granolith still works,” Max interrupted while Kyle continued to inch closer toward Tristan. “It’s been buried here for over twenty years, and it obviously crashed, if it ever really flew in the first place.”
“I can make it work,” Tristan said, the arrogance in his voice undeniable. “Besides, you don’t really even know if it actually flew out of Roswell. The entire pod chamber incident could have been one elaborate mindwarp.”
“You’re right,” Kyle continued and Max frowned as Tristan’s focus shifted from he to Kyle. “Tess’s mindwarps were very good.”
“That’s right,” Tristan replied. “You don’t even remember having sex with my mother. I don’t really understand how that’s possible since I’ve been told she was very skilled in that area. Is that true, Max? Was my mother a good lay?”
Absalom took a step forward as Tristan’s laugh echoed through their immediate surroundings, his forward progress stopped only by Jase’s firm grip on his shoulder. “Don’t play into his game,” Jase cautioned, and Absalom stared at Lily, surprised to find her watching his every movement.
“Just give us Lily,” Max replied.
“I’m sorry but I can’t do that.”
“Tristan,” Kyle began but his voice was silenced by a deafening boom shooting through the desert. Clutching his stomach, Kyle fell face first into the dust.
“Absalom!”
“Tristan,” Max screamed once Lily shouted Absalom’s name. His mind was in four different places at once; he stood to lose all those he cared about at Tristan’s hand if the situation sparked in a firestorm. He ran toward where Kyle had fallen only to be caught in some kind of invisible shield. Staring across the granolith pit at Tristan, he was relieved to see Lily scramble away from him and run toward where Absalom and Jase stood.
Max saw Jase rush at Tristan from his blind side and tackle him, both men rolling toward the granolith pit. With Tristan’s concentration focused elsewhere, whatever shield that had bound Max disappeared, and he dropped to his knees. He scrambled to the edge of the granolith pit and watched as Jase placed his hand on Tristan’s chest. A primal scream he had never heard before erupted from his son’s throat and within moments, Tristan’s lifeless body crumpled at Jase’s feet.
He dropped into the ditch, his eyes focused on Jase the entire time as he walked the circumference to Jase’s side. “Jase? Are you okay? It’s me, son. We’re okay now.”
“Did Ab get Lily,” Jase questioned, Max’s arm around his waist to steady him.
“Let’s get out of here, Jase.”
“Okay, Dad. Let’s go home.”
* * *
“Absalom!”
Jase watched as Lily somehow escaped from Tristan’s side, her thin legs pounding against the desert as she ran toward where he and Absalom stood. “Take Lily to the truck,” Jase screamed as he ran past Lily toward Tristan. He saw Max caught by some of Tristan’s mind control and Kyle lay unmoving at the edge of the granolith pit. “Go, Ab! Get her out of here!”
“Jase,” Lily cried, her brother’s face an angry contortion of emotion when he ran past her at Tristan. She lunged for Jase as they passed but was unable to grab onto any of his clothing.
With cat-like reflexes, Jase pounced on Tristan and the two men rolled into the pit where Jase assumed the granolith was buried. He saw his father stir out of the corner of his eye, and landed a right hand against Tristan’s jaw. Screaming, he placed his hand against Tristan’s chest, some unconscious part of his brain forcing his actions. A heat rose from his palms and Jase never took his eyes away from Tristan’s face until Tristan’s eyes closed for good and he fell to the ground. His heart beat a steady pulse in his ears and he felt his father’s arm wrap around his waist.
“Let’s get out of here, Jase.”
“Okay, Dad. Let’s go home.”
* * *
“Jase,” Lily cried when he ran past her toward Tristan, her desperate attempt to grab him in vain. “No, Jase!” She retreated from Absalom, taking two small steps after her brother when she felt Absalom’s cool touch on her skin.
“Let’s go, Lily.”
She allowed Absalom to lead her away from the granolith but she did not take her eyes off Jase or her father, seemingly frozen by Tristan’s power. They ran almost twenty-five yards and when Lily could no longer see Jase or her father, she turned her attention to Absalom. “Am I dreaming? Are you really here?” She reached for his face, her fingers inching around the back of his neck.
“I’m here,” Absalom replied, pulling her thin body against his chest. He felt her sigh against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead. “And we’ll never be apart again.”
Part 27
PART TWENTY-SEVEN
Max all but carried Jase back to the truck, not surprised to see Lily in Absalom’s arms. He paused for a moment before he interrupted them with the grim reality of their situation, and watched as his daughter and the man that loved her held each other. He didn’t allow himself to wonder about his own official introduction to Lily as he and Jase continued toward the truck; whatever happened from here, he knew his daughter would be safe.
“Max,” Absalom said when he and Jase reached the passenger door of the truck, pushing Lily at arm’s length. “How’s Jase?”
“He’s tired,” Max replied, carefully placing Jase into the truck, “and rightfully so. I haven’t seen rage like in a long time.” Staring at his son, his mind wandered back to Pierce's death at Michael’s hand, and how Michael had suffered with his actions. He hoped Jase would not share a similar fate. “He’ll be okay once he’s rested.” Glancing to his left, he stared at Lily, the daughter he had been searching for for almost ten years. They had never been formally introduced, and he wondered for a moment he if would have ever learned of her existence had she and Jase not been kidnapped. “Hello, Lily. I’m Max.”
“My father,” Lily replied and the smile on her face reminded him at once of Liz. Everything about Lily was similar to Liz, except for her eyes. Lily’s eyes were exactly like his. “Thank you,” Lily whispered as she crashed against his chest, the sheer force of her movements causing him to stumble slightly.
With tears streaming down his face, Max held onto Lily tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head. “You were worth it.”
“Where’s Kyle,” a groggy Jase questioned from his prone position in the cab of the truck. “Is Kyle okay?”
“No,” Max said, “but you should rest, Jase. You need to save your strength. Absalom, will you come with me for a minute? Lily, stay with Jase and we’ll be right back.” He pushed his daughter out of his arms, and she immediately turned toward her brother. Motioning with his head, he and Absalom stepped away from the truck back toward the granolith and Kyle’s body.
“Kyle’s dead?”
“He is.” They walked toward Kyle’s body, still lying face down against the desert floor. “I hate to do it but we need to bury him here.”
“What about the granolith?”
“We’ll deal with that, after we bury Kyle.”
* * *
With the granolith and Tristan’s remains firmly interred where neither would ever be found, Max walked back to Kyle’s grave as Absalom returned to Lily. He thought it was better that way; the things he wanted to say, even if they were silent, were better said alone. He and Kyle had not begun their journey as friends; Kyle was a reluctant player in the alien game, his life a favor for his father’s silence. But along the way, Max and Kyle had gained an understanding about one another, a kind of modest respect, and with Kyle’s devotion and love for Liz, Isabel and Maria Grace, Max was certain Roswell wouldn’t be the same. He dreaded having to explain Kyle’s death to his sister, especially since it had been her greatest fear that Tristan would somehow hurt them once he learned Kyle was his real father. Mostly, he felt regret for the fact that he couldn’t save Kyle one last time. “Good-bye, my friend,” he whispered, and slowly walked back to the truck.
* * *
Liz stared at the clock in her kitchen while preparing egg salad over the sink. With the mixing bowl in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other, she paced back and forth, stirring the ingredients together at a feverish pace. Isabel was upstairs in the shower and Michael in the backyard, prepping the grill for their dinner. With Max and the others gone in search of Lily, Liz, Isabel and Michael had become dependent upon each other. Isabel and Maria Grace lived at Liz’s house, and the three of them were together almost every waking hour of the day.
Something about this day was different in Liz’s mind. She felt an uncertainty she hadn’t felt in many years, not even during Max’s four-year absence from her life. She looked at the clock again as the telephone rang, cutting through the silence of her kitchen so fiercely, Liz dropped the bowl and spoon.
“Hello,” she breathlessly answered, just as Michael entered the back door and Isabel appeared in the small hallway. “Max? Oh, thank God. What? Oh. Okay. I…I…yes, I love you too.” Returning the telephone to its receiver, she fell against the wall, tears welling in her eyes.
“What is it, Liz? What’s wrong?”
“They found her,” she cried, Isabel’s arms immediately around her neck. “They found Lily, and they’re bringing her home.”
* * *
Liz strained her neck and looked down either direction of the street. Glancing at her watch, she mentally calculated the time it would have taken for Max to drive home. She knew they should be there shortly and that everything was fine, but those thoughts did nothing to quash her inner fears. She was so close, so close to holding her daughter in her arms again for the first time in ten years, and she knew she wouldn’t be completely whole until Lily was in Roswell.
“They’ll be here soon,” Michael whispered, his hand automatically on the small of her back. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”
“That doesn’t make the wait any less stressful,” Liz replied with a slight laugh, folding her arms across her chest as she turned toward Michael. “Where’s Isabel?”
“She’s resting. And Livvie is reading to Maria Grace and Nina, and Evan and Seth are playing video games. Everyone’s fine.” He brushed his hands up and down Liz’s shoulders and upper arms. “Everyone is fine, Liz.”
“I just want her home, Michael. I…I don’t feel like I’ll be able to breathe until I’m looking at her face to face.”
“What are you going to say to her?”
Liz’s eyes pooled with tears, her mouth slightly open while she pondered how to answer Michael’s question. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to speak. Look at me. I’m crying just thinking about seeing her.”
“Does this mean it’s over,” Michael questioned, pulling Liz into his arms as a pair of headlights created shadows on the living room wall. “Is the war finally over?”
“I certainly hope so,” Liz whispered, car doors slamming in the distance. She spun away from Michael and opened the door to find Lily on her doorstep.
“I’m here, Mama.”
And Liz could do nothing but pull Lily into her arms as Max, Jase and Absalom gathered around them.
“Where’s Kyle,” Michael questioned once Max had successfully moved Liz and Lily out of the doorway and into the living room. He looked to Absalom and Jase, but neither boy would meet his gaze.
“Kyle’s dead,” Max whispered, glancing over his shoulder at his wife and daughter, their joyous tears echoing through the room. “Tristan killed him.”
“My God. This is going to kill Isabel.”
“What is going to kill Isabel,” Isabel questioned as she stepped into the living room. Max lowered his head then slowly raised it to make eye contact with his sister. “Where is Kyle?”
Looking at Liz and Lily once again, Max stepped toward Isabel, taking her firmly by the elbow and leading her into the kitchen. He didn’t speak until they were seated at the table, Michael lingering at the kitchen counter. “Isabel -”
“Kyle didn’t make it,” Isabel interrupted, her bottom lip quivering, her voice unsteady. “Tristan killed him, didn’t he?”
“I’m sorry, Isabel. It happened so fast. There was nothing I could do.” Max placed his hands on top of his sister’s, suddenly unable to gauge her emotions.
“And Tess?”
“She’s gone too, and so is Kivar.”
Isabel nodded her head once as she pulled her hands from underneath Max’s. She stared at her brother and at Michael while she rose to her feet, Michael behind her instantly to steady her. “Then it’s finished,” she whispered as she turned slowly and walked down the hallway.
“She handled that better than I’d expected,” Michael offered once he assumed Isabel was safely out of earshot. “I don’t think she’ll blame Liz this time, like she did when Diane and Alex died.”
“I think you’re right,” Max agreed,” but I don’t think she’ll ever be the same.”
Max all but carried Jase back to the truck, not surprised to see Lily in Absalom’s arms. He paused for a moment before he interrupted them with the grim reality of their situation, and watched as his daughter and the man that loved her held each other. He didn’t allow himself to wonder about his own official introduction to Lily as he and Jase continued toward the truck; whatever happened from here, he knew his daughter would be safe.
“Max,” Absalom said when he and Jase reached the passenger door of the truck, pushing Lily at arm’s length. “How’s Jase?”
“He’s tired,” Max replied, carefully placing Jase into the truck, “and rightfully so. I haven’t seen rage like in a long time.” Staring at his son, his mind wandered back to Pierce's death at Michael’s hand, and how Michael had suffered with his actions. He hoped Jase would not share a similar fate. “He’ll be okay once he’s rested.” Glancing to his left, he stared at Lily, the daughter he had been searching for for almost ten years. They had never been formally introduced, and he wondered for a moment he if would have ever learned of her existence had she and Jase not been kidnapped. “Hello, Lily. I’m Max.”
“My father,” Lily replied and the smile on her face reminded him at once of Liz. Everything about Lily was similar to Liz, except for her eyes. Lily’s eyes were exactly like his. “Thank you,” Lily whispered as she crashed against his chest, the sheer force of her movements causing him to stumble slightly.
With tears streaming down his face, Max held onto Lily tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head. “You were worth it.”
“Where’s Kyle,” a groggy Jase questioned from his prone position in the cab of the truck. “Is Kyle okay?”
“No,” Max said, “but you should rest, Jase. You need to save your strength. Absalom, will you come with me for a minute? Lily, stay with Jase and we’ll be right back.” He pushed his daughter out of his arms, and she immediately turned toward her brother. Motioning with his head, he and Absalom stepped away from the truck back toward the granolith and Kyle’s body.
“Kyle’s dead?”
“He is.” They walked toward Kyle’s body, still lying face down against the desert floor. “I hate to do it but we need to bury him here.”
“What about the granolith?”
“We’ll deal with that, after we bury Kyle.”
* * *
With the granolith and Tristan’s remains firmly interred where neither would ever be found, Max walked back to Kyle’s grave as Absalom returned to Lily. He thought it was better that way; the things he wanted to say, even if they were silent, were better said alone. He and Kyle had not begun their journey as friends; Kyle was a reluctant player in the alien game, his life a favor for his father’s silence. But along the way, Max and Kyle had gained an understanding about one another, a kind of modest respect, and with Kyle’s devotion and love for Liz, Isabel and Maria Grace, Max was certain Roswell wouldn’t be the same. He dreaded having to explain Kyle’s death to his sister, especially since it had been her greatest fear that Tristan would somehow hurt them once he learned Kyle was his real father. Mostly, he felt regret for the fact that he couldn’t save Kyle one last time. “Good-bye, my friend,” he whispered, and slowly walked back to the truck.
* * *
Liz stared at the clock in her kitchen while preparing egg salad over the sink. With the mixing bowl in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other, she paced back and forth, stirring the ingredients together at a feverish pace. Isabel was upstairs in the shower and Michael in the backyard, prepping the grill for their dinner. With Max and the others gone in search of Lily, Liz, Isabel and Michael had become dependent upon each other. Isabel and Maria Grace lived at Liz’s house, and the three of them were together almost every waking hour of the day.
Something about this day was different in Liz’s mind. She felt an uncertainty she hadn’t felt in many years, not even during Max’s four-year absence from her life. She looked at the clock again as the telephone rang, cutting through the silence of her kitchen so fiercely, Liz dropped the bowl and spoon.
“Hello,” she breathlessly answered, just as Michael entered the back door and Isabel appeared in the small hallway. “Max? Oh, thank God. What? Oh. Okay. I…I…yes, I love you too.” Returning the telephone to its receiver, she fell against the wall, tears welling in her eyes.
“What is it, Liz? What’s wrong?”
“They found her,” she cried, Isabel’s arms immediately around her neck. “They found Lily, and they’re bringing her home.”
* * *
Liz strained her neck and looked down either direction of the street. Glancing at her watch, she mentally calculated the time it would have taken for Max to drive home. She knew they should be there shortly and that everything was fine, but those thoughts did nothing to quash her inner fears. She was so close, so close to holding her daughter in her arms again for the first time in ten years, and she knew she wouldn’t be completely whole until Lily was in Roswell.
“They’ll be here soon,” Michael whispered, his hand automatically on the small of her back. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”
“That doesn’t make the wait any less stressful,” Liz replied with a slight laugh, folding her arms across her chest as she turned toward Michael. “Where’s Isabel?”
“She’s resting. And Livvie is reading to Maria Grace and Nina, and Evan and Seth are playing video games. Everyone’s fine.” He brushed his hands up and down Liz’s shoulders and upper arms. “Everyone is fine, Liz.”
“I just want her home, Michael. I…I don’t feel like I’ll be able to breathe until I’m looking at her face to face.”
“What are you going to say to her?”
Liz’s eyes pooled with tears, her mouth slightly open while she pondered how to answer Michael’s question. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to speak. Look at me. I’m crying just thinking about seeing her.”
“Does this mean it’s over,” Michael questioned, pulling Liz into his arms as a pair of headlights created shadows on the living room wall. “Is the war finally over?”
“I certainly hope so,” Liz whispered, car doors slamming in the distance. She spun away from Michael and opened the door to find Lily on her doorstep.
“I’m here, Mama.”
And Liz could do nothing but pull Lily into her arms as Max, Jase and Absalom gathered around them.
“Where’s Kyle,” Michael questioned once Max had successfully moved Liz and Lily out of the doorway and into the living room. He looked to Absalom and Jase, but neither boy would meet his gaze.
“Kyle’s dead,” Max whispered, glancing over his shoulder at his wife and daughter, their joyous tears echoing through the room. “Tristan killed him.”
“My God. This is going to kill Isabel.”
“What is going to kill Isabel,” Isabel questioned as she stepped into the living room. Max lowered his head then slowly raised it to make eye contact with his sister. “Where is Kyle?”
Looking at Liz and Lily once again, Max stepped toward Isabel, taking her firmly by the elbow and leading her into the kitchen. He didn’t speak until they were seated at the table, Michael lingering at the kitchen counter. “Isabel -”
“Kyle didn’t make it,” Isabel interrupted, her bottom lip quivering, her voice unsteady. “Tristan killed him, didn’t he?”
“I’m sorry, Isabel. It happened so fast. There was nothing I could do.” Max placed his hands on top of his sister’s, suddenly unable to gauge her emotions.
“And Tess?”
“She’s gone too, and so is Kivar.”
Isabel nodded her head once as she pulled her hands from underneath Max’s. She stared at her brother and at Michael while she rose to her feet, Michael behind her instantly to steady her. “Then it’s finished,” she whispered as she turned slowly and walked down the hallway.
“She handled that better than I’d expected,” Michael offered once he assumed Isabel was safely out of earshot. “I don’t think she’ll blame Liz this time, like she did when Diane and Alex died.”
“I think you’re right,” Max agreed,” but I don’t think she’ll ever be the same.”
Last edited by JO on Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Part 28
Author's Note: Sorry for my extended absence. Hopefully, I can be a little more regular with my postings on the board, and I can finish this fic asap.
JO
PART TWENTY-EIGHT
Liz stood in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest, the glasses she never wore in public perched on her nose. She smiled as she watched Lily and Seth play a videogame on his Play Station 4, Jase and Absalom completing the foursome. Seth had taken to Lily instantly and Liz couldn’t help the feeling that her youngest son might share a stronger connection with Lily than either she or Jase. Michael had taken his children home after their impromptu dinner, and Liz was more than thankful for Michael’s ability to know just what she needed without her having to say a word.
She turned back into the kitchen, Max sitting at the table with a cup of coffee between his palms. Brushing the hair out of her face, she sat beside her husband and wordless placed her hand onto his. He tilted his head toward her and smiled the smile that had made her heart melt when she returned to Roswell almost ten years earlier. A roar of laughter came from the living room, followed immediately by Seth’s protests and Liz couldn’t help but laugh. “This is sheer perfection,” she whispered as the laughter in the other room died down, replaced by the video game’s commentary. “I am so thankful you brought her back, Max.” She pressed a soft kiss to his temple, her hand automatically feathering through his hair.
“I wish I could have brought Kyle back too,” Max replied, tilting the coffee mug to his lips.
“I know you do, and I know that when it finally sinks into my brain I’ll never see Kyle again, I’ll grieve for him. Right now, I’m just trying to remind myself that Lily is actually here with me, that I’m not dreaming.” She paused when Max did not respond and clasp her hands together underneath her chin. “We’ve all sacrificed to bring Lily home, Max. That doesn’t diminish what happened or lessen the losses we’ve suffered, but there are a lot of people we love that aren’t with us any longer.”
“I just felt obligated to Kyle, to try to protect him, save him, something.”
“You saved him once, Max. Maybe,” she cleared her throat as tears for one of her oldest friends began to pool in her eyes, “maybe now was just his time. Maybe he was ready.”
“But Isabel and Maria Grace,” Max began, his voice cracking slightly. Liz reached for his shoulder and moved closer to him, her arm casually wrapped around him as she pressed her cheek onto his shoulder. “Isabel didn’t deserve to lose him that way, not through Tristan. She was afraid that would happen, Liz. She was scared Tristan would kill him.”
“Tristan could have killed all of you, Max. Whatever powers he possessed, they were brought out of pure hatred and evil. Kyle was being naïve to think he could have had a genuine relationship with him.”
“I tried to tell Kyle that but those kind of thoughts don’t sit well in a father’s mind. Jase and I haven’t always gotten along but if the opportunity for us to develop a relationship hadn’t even been extended, I would have wanted it, no matter what anyone said, just like Kyle did.”
“I know.”
Moving out of Liz’s embrace, Max wiped his face with the backs of his hands. “I don’t think Isabel is going to survive this.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed and shook his head. “She took the news too well, and for Isabel, that’s unusual. You remember how she reacted when we found out about Alex and Jesse, and I’m sure you remember what she said after Mom died.”
“I remember,” Liz admitted, Isabel’s voice echoing through her head even now. Why don’t you go back to wherever you came from. No one wants you here. She shook her head slightly, rattling those negative thoughts away and turned her attention back to Max. “What did she say when you told her?”
“She mumbled something about it finally being over and she asked about Tess and Kivar then she left the room.”
“Everyone grieves in their own way, Max.”
“I know but this just isn’t like Isabel. I don’t want her to pull away. I don’t want her to lose herself in her grief, like when Alex died. She makes rash decisions, Liz. You know that.”
Before Liz could respond, the telephone rang in the kitchen and Jase appeared in the doorway. Liz stood to answer it while Jase watched in anxious anticipation. “Hi, Michael. Okay. Yes. Yes, of course. Okay. Bye.”
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” Jase replied as Liz returned the telephone to its rightful place. “Something’s wrong with Larissa.”
“Jase, wait.”
“I’ll be safe, I promise.” Placing a kiss on his mother’s cheek and before Liz could say anything further, Jase ran out of the house and to the pick-up truck that had brought them back from Chandler. Liz placed her hand on the door knob, her face lined with worry.
“What is it, Liz,” Max questioned as the pick-up truck’s engine revved to life and Jase sped toward Michael’s house. He stepped toward Liz, who had not moved from her position in front of the door watching the pick-up truck until it moved out of sight “What did Michael want?”
“He said Livvie got a flash. That something had happened to Larissa. A girl came to the house, a girl named Morgana.”
“That’s Tess’s daughter’s name,” Max whispered, automatically reaching for Liz’s arm to guide her back to the kitchen table.
“There’s something else that Livvie felt in her flash,” Liz said once she was again seated at the table. She saw Lily, Absalom and Seth emerge from the living room into the kitchen, Absalom’s attention focused on her while his arm looped around Lily’s waist. And like a nightmare from her past coming back to haunt her, Liz sighed as she told them, “Morgana is pregnant.”
JO
PART TWENTY-EIGHT
Liz stood in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest, the glasses she never wore in public perched on her nose. She smiled as she watched Lily and Seth play a videogame on his Play Station 4, Jase and Absalom completing the foursome. Seth had taken to Lily instantly and Liz couldn’t help the feeling that her youngest son might share a stronger connection with Lily than either she or Jase. Michael had taken his children home after their impromptu dinner, and Liz was more than thankful for Michael’s ability to know just what she needed without her having to say a word.
She turned back into the kitchen, Max sitting at the table with a cup of coffee between his palms. Brushing the hair out of her face, she sat beside her husband and wordless placed her hand onto his. He tilted his head toward her and smiled the smile that had made her heart melt when she returned to Roswell almost ten years earlier. A roar of laughter came from the living room, followed immediately by Seth’s protests and Liz couldn’t help but laugh. “This is sheer perfection,” she whispered as the laughter in the other room died down, replaced by the video game’s commentary. “I am so thankful you brought her back, Max.” She pressed a soft kiss to his temple, her hand automatically feathering through his hair.
“I wish I could have brought Kyle back too,” Max replied, tilting the coffee mug to his lips.
“I know you do, and I know that when it finally sinks into my brain I’ll never see Kyle again, I’ll grieve for him. Right now, I’m just trying to remind myself that Lily is actually here with me, that I’m not dreaming.” She paused when Max did not respond and clasp her hands together underneath her chin. “We’ve all sacrificed to bring Lily home, Max. That doesn’t diminish what happened or lessen the losses we’ve suffered, but there are a lot of people we love that aren’t with us any longer.”
“I just felt obligated to Kyle, to try to protect him, save him, something.”
“You saved him once, Max. Maybe,” she cleared her throat as tears for one of her oldest friends began to pool in her eyes, “maybe now was just his time. Maybe he was ready.”
“But Isabel and Maria Grace,” Max began, his voice cracking slightly. Liz reached for his shoulder and moved closer to him, her arm casually wrapped around him as she pressed her cheek onto his shoulder. “Isabel didn’t deserve to lose him that way, not through Tristan. She was afraid that would happen, Liz. She was scared Tristan would kill him.”
“Tristan could have killed all of you, Max. Whatever powers he possessed, they were brought out of pure hatred and evil. Kyle was being naïve to think he could have had a genuine relationship with him.”
“I tried to tell Kyle that but those kind of thoughts don’t sit well in a father’s mind. Jase and I haven’t always gotten along but if the opportunity for us to develop a relationship hadn’t even been extended, I would have wanted it, no matter what anyone said, just like Kyle did.”
“I know.”
Moving out of Liz’s embrace, Max wiped his face with the backs of his hands. “I don’t think Isabel is going to survive this.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed and shook his head. “She took the news too well, and for Isabel, that’s unusual. You remember how she reacted when we found out about Alex and Jesse, and I’m sure you remember what she said after Mom died.”
“I remember,” Liz admitted, Isabel’s voice echoing through her head even now. Why don’t you go back to wherever you came from. No one wants you here. She shook her head slightly, rattling those negative thoughts away and turned her attention back to Max. “What did she say when you told her?”
“She mumbled something about it finally being over and she asked about Tess and Kivar then she left the room.”
“Everyone grieves in their own way, Max.”
“I know but this just isn’t like Isabel. I don’t want her to pull away. I don’t want her to lose herself in her grief, like when Alex died. She makes rash decisions, Liz. You know that.”
Before Liz could respond, the telephone rang in the kitchen and Jase appeared in the doorway. Liz stood to answer it while Jase watched in anxious anticipation. “Hi, Michael. Okay. Yes. Yes, of course. Okay. Bye.”
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” Jase replied as Liz returned the telephone to its rightful place. “Something’s wrong with Larissa.”
“Jase, wait.”
“I’ll be safe, I promise.” Placing a kiss on his mother’s cheek and before Liz could say anything further, Jase ran out of the house and to the pick-up truck that had brought them back from Chandler. Liz placed her hand on the door knob, her face lined with worry.
“What is it, Liz,” Max questioned as the pick-up truck’s engine revved to life and Jase sped toward Michael’s house. He stepped toward Liz, who had not moved from her position in front of the door watching the pick-up truck until it moved out of sight “What did Michael want?”
“He said Livvie got a flash. That something had happened to Larissa. A girl came to the house, a girl named Morgana.”
“That’s Tess’s daughter’s name,” Max whispered, automatically reaching for Liz’s arm to guide her back to the kitchen table.
“There’s something else that Livvie felt in her flash,” Liz said once she was again seated at the table. She saw Lily, Absalom and Seth emerge from the living room into the kitchen, Absalom’s attention focused on her while his arm looped around Lily’s waist. And like a nightmare from her past coming back to haunt her, Liz sighed as she told them, “Morgana is pregnant.”
Last edited by JO on Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Part 29
PART TWENTY-NINE
Lily lay on her left side, her cheek pressed firmly against Absalom’s chest. Their limbs remained tangled as the two of them lay together on Absalom’s bed in silence. “Could Morgana really be pregnant,” she whispered while Absalom ran his hand up and down her arm. “Why would she come to Roswell?”
“She came for Jase,” Absalom said, his fingers dancing up and down Lily’s arm. “Jase has been having dreams about her.”
“What kind of dreams?”
“Morgana is a lot like my mother once was. When she first came to Roswell, Tess made Max see things.”
“Like what?”
“Like the two of them kissing or going further.” Absalom felt Lily stiffen next to him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. “Morgana invades Jase’s dreams.”
“Just like Tess did to my father. Then that means Larissa is my mother in the triangle.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Absalom replied in a low voice. “But Jase can handle himself with Morgana. Besides, I think there could be something real between them. I’ve never seen Morgana as scared as she was in Chandler when Jase wouldn’t wake up. My mother only wanted Max to impregnate her to fulfill the bargain Nasedo and Kivar made. Morgana could honestly love Jase.”
“She may be your sister, Ab, but she’s still like Tess. Tess did horrible things to my family. She’s evil.”
“Was evil,” Absalom corrected, his left hand digging into his pocket as he released his grip on Lily. He sighed inwardly, not wanting to discuss his mother, his sister and their actions against Max or Jase while Lily was in his arms. “This is yours,” he replied, presenting the blue and silver bracelet to Lily and gently placing it onto her right wrist. “I’ve waited a long time to give you that.”
“And I’ve waited a long time for this,” Lily said, rolling her body on top of Absalom’s. She wound her arms around his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I knew you’d come for me. I knew you’d find me.” She kissed him again, more feverish this time, and smiled as she felt Absalom wrap his arms tightly around her waist. “I love you.”
“I love you, Lily.”
Lily smiled at Absalom as she sat up on his stomach. Her fingers began at the collar of her cotton shirt, and she slowly unbuttoned two of the buttons before Absalom’s hands stopped her. “Lily. We don’t -”
“I want this,” she said after placing his hands on her thighs. “I have waited so long to be with you, so long for you to find me and take me away from Kivar. I want to be with you, Absalom.”
“Will you marry me,” Absalom questioned frantically, his hands framing Lily’s face as he pushed her off of his stomach, both of them rising to their knees on his bed.
“What?”
“Marry me. Say you’ll marry me. I’ve thought about nothing else since the first moment I found you screaming in that cell in Copper Summit. My destiny and my life have been about nothing but wars and anger and death. I want to fulfill the destiny of my heart. Marry me, Lily Parker.”
“I will,” she replied softly just before Absalom’s lips touched hers. They fell backwards onto the bed, their kiss still intact. “I’ve dreamed about this moment,” Lily whispered as Absalom’s hand inched underneath her shirt. “I’ve dreamed about a lot of moments with you. And I’ve seen her.”
“Seen who,” Absalom questioned, pressing his lips to Lily’s neck, their limbs intertwining once again as passion began to build between them.
“Our daughter. Her name is Fallon.” Lily grabbed the hem of Absalom’s shirt and pulled it over his head, dropping it behind her onto the floor.
“Do you know when she arrives?” Absalom buried his head against Lily’s neck, the exposed skin too much for him to resist. He had seen her too; a small blonde child with brown eyes. His child. Lily’s child.
“No, but she’s coming. Does that scare you,” Lily whispered in between kisses as more clothing was removed. “Does it scare you to know I’ve seen our child?”
“It doesn’t scare me at all. I’ve seen her too Lily, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
Lily lay on her left side, her cheek pressed firmly against Absalom’s chest. Their limbs remained tangled as the two of them lay together on Absalom’s bed in silence. “Could Morgana really be pregnant,” she whispered while Absalom ran his hand up and down her arm. “Why would she come to Roswell?”
“She came for Jase,” Absalom said, his fingers dancing up and down Lily’s arm. “Jase has been having dreams about her.”
“What kind of dreams?”
“Morgana is a lot like my mother once was. When she first came to Roswell, Tess made Max see things.”
“Like what?”
“Like the two of them kissing or going further.” Absalom felt Lily stiffen next to him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him. “Morgana invades Jase’s dreams.”
“Just like Tess did to my father. Then that means Larissa is my mother in the triangle.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” Absalom replied in a low voice. “But Jase can handle himself with Morgana. Besides, I think there could be something real between them. I’ve never seen Morgana as scared as she was in Chandler when Jase wouldn’t wake up. My mother only wanted Max to impregnate her to fulfill the bargain Nasedo and Kivar made. Morgana could honestly love Jase.”
“She may be your sister, Ab, but she’s still like Tess. Tess did horrible things to my family. She’s evil.”
“Was evil,” Absalom corrected, his left hand digging into his pocket as he released his grip on Lily. He sighed inwardly, not wanting to discuss his mother, his sister and their actions against Max or Jase while Lily was in his arms. “This is yours,” he replied, presenting the blue and silver bracelet to Lily and gently placing it onto her right wrist. “I’ve waited a long time to give you that.”
“And I’ve waited a long time for this,” Lily said, rolling her body on top of Absalom’s. She wound her arms around his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I knew you’d come for me. I knew you’d find me.” She kissed him again, more feverish this time, and smiled as she felt Absalom wrap his arms tightly around her waist. “I love you.”
“I love you, Lily.”
Lily smiled at Absalom as she sat up on his stomach. Her fingers began at the collar of her cotton shirt, and she slowly unbuttoned two of the buttons before Absalom’s hands stopped her. “Lily. We don’t -”
“I want this,” she said after placing his hands on her thighs. “I have waited so long to be with you, so long for you to find me and take me away from Kivar. I want to be with you, Absalom.”
“Will you marry me,” Absalom questioned frantically, his hands framing Lily’s face as he pushed her off of his stomach, both of them rising to their knees on his bed.
“What?”
“Marry me. Say you’ll marry me. I’ve thought about nothing else since the first moment I found you screaming in that cell in Copper Summit. My destiny and my life have been about nothing but wars and anger and death. I want to fulfill the destiny of my heart. Marry me, Lily Parker.”
“I will,” she replied softly just before Absalom’s lips touched hers. They fell backwards onto the bed, their kiss still intact. “I’ve dreamed about this moment,” Lily whispered as Absalom’s hand inched underneath her shirt. “I’ve dreamed about a lot of moments with you. And I’ve seen her.”
“Seen who,” Absalom questioned, pressing his lips to Lily’s neck, their limbs intertwining once again as passion began to build between them.
“Our daughter. Her name is Fallon.” Lily grabbed the hem of Absalom’s shirt and pulled it over his head, dropping it behind her onto the floor.
“Do you know when she arrives?” Absalom buried his head against Lily’s neck, the exposed skin too much for him to resist. He had seen her too; a small blonde child with brown eyes. His child. Lily’s child.
“No, but she’s coming. Does that scare you,” Lily whispered in between kisses as more clothing was removed. “Does it scare you to know I’ve seen our child?”
“It doesn’t scare me at all. I’ve seen her too Lily, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
Last edited by JO on Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.