Chapter 40

Fallon was helping Sapphira dry her back when he felt Gideon enter the cave. The part of him that had been Aden pushed forward, overshadowing this own self-awareness. It was a side effect of the trials that could leave them disoriented, depending on how deep their memories were suppressed. Apparently Malphas had tried to bury them so deep they would never remember who they really were. One of the many ways he tried to keep them under his control.

After so many centuries of being someone else, it was strange and a bit disorienting being able to feel Gideon so intimately. In the last six years, unless the emotion was being specifically directed at him, there had always been the small tastes of what the male was feeling. The rage his brother was directing at him now was palpable. Fallon knew when Gideon saw the rumpled sheets on the bed because the jealousy that intensified that rage almost brought him to his knees. Right on the heels of that was frustration laced with guilt. These were Tanis’s emotions, and Gideon knew that. There was no jealousy between the brothers, there never would be, but until they could separate themselves from their counterparts their emotions were going to be debilitating. With some effort, Fallon pushed Gideon’s rampant emotions away enough so they were only a dull roar in the back of his head.

“What’s wrong?” Sapphira asked turning towards him frowning in confusion.

“The usually emotional chaos that ensues once our true selves awaken,” he sighed, placing his hands on her hips, drawing her closer so he could rest his forehead on hers. “The part of Gideon that is Tanis is pissed I took you from him. Seeing a bed rumpled from us having sex did not help,” he grimaced as a particular strong shot of rage sliced through his head.

“Why don’t I feel him?”

“I am blocking him. I was worried if I didn’t shield you, you would not have survived the pain of separation as Kara and Tanis would experience,” he explained. “Now I’m glad I did.”

“That bad?” she asked warily. Like Fallon, Gideon’s emotional turmoil would mix with hers. When they were this high, it was never a pleasant experience.

Closing his eyes, Fallon nodded.

“You might as well drop the shields so I can get it over with,” Sapphira sighed

Opening his eyes, he regarded her warily. “You sure? I’ve never felt it this intensely before. It’s as if the emotions are heightened somehow.”

“Do I have a choice? We need to remember who we are, regain our powers before we try to rescue Damien or Malphas will enslave us again. I don’t think he’ll give us another chance to escape.”

“You really think he is more powerful than you?” Fallon asked surprised.

“I think he has done his homework and he knows our weaknesses,” Sapphira frowned. “I can still feel him…here,” she whispered putting her hand over her heart, shuddering. When she looked up into Fallon’s eyes they were full of something he rarely saw from the goddess. Fear. “I do not want to be under him again. In any sense of the word.”

“I’ll so my best to make sure that never happens,” Fallon vowed.

Nodding a little too much, a little to quickly, Sapphira squared her shoulders and braced herself. “Okay. Hit me,” she ordered.

Smiling as her overexaggerated bravado, Fallon brought down the shields that kept her and Gideon separated.

Sapphira gasped when the full force of Gideon’s anger and jealousy hit her. There was so much anger, so much hurt, and mixed together was a heavy dose of guilt followed by physical pain. Gideon was still wounded from Malphas attack. That should have not been possible. One, because Gideon’s physical body had not been in that cavern. Two, because he was an immortal. He should have healed by now. Why wasn’t he healed?

Fallon tightened his grip on her waist as she felt his powers start to mask Gideon’s feelings.

“No,” she gritted out. “It just startled me. Give me a minute.”

Fallon froze, watching Sapphira carefully as she not only pushed Gideon’s emotions back, but began to sooth them. While Damien had created her sentinel, he had used both his and hers essences in that creation. It was the reason the four of them were so closely linked to one another. It was also one of the reasons Satan and Godiva were jealous of the two males, because they had not been created from Sapphira and Damien, but from the matter that created all. Sapphira used that link to assure Gideon, she was okay as well as remind him of what was real, and what was a product of the Trial.

“He’s hurt,” she whispered, her face showing the pain that Gideon was feeling.

Fallon stilled. Why wasn’t he feeling Gideon’s pain?

“Because Tanis’s rage is trying to take over, and he wants nothing to do with you,” she answered his thoughts. “He’s,” the grip she had on Fallon’s arms tightened as her face closed down even more with pain. “There is something wrong with the wound, but…there is no physical wound,” she frowned. “There is no torn flesh, no blood. Just burning and so much,” she swallowed hard, “pain. He’s,” her eyes flew opened, fear once again lacing them, “dying,” she breathed.

Within a nanosecond she was dressed and heading for the door, Fallon closely on her heels. Gideon may have escaped Malphas’s trap, but the damage had already been done. If they did not reverse it, and soon, Gideon would not survive the night.

*   *   *

Brynn carefully laid a barely conscious Gideon down on the rumpled bed. Reaching for Gideon’s forehead, he gently placed the back of his hand against it to find his skin hot. That was not good. Brynn was not sure what had happened when Gideon took the medallion from him, but when he had finally been able to pry that damn thing from his fingers, Gideon was curled in a ball on the floor weak and shaken. Godiva said he needed Sapphira in order to heal him, but neither she or Satan knew where they were, and Gideon was too weak to teleport himself there. Knowing that if they could they would leave him behind because he was only a mere mortal and not a part of this particular story, Brynn volunteered his ship. If Gideon could direct him, he would take him to Sapphira. So here they were and so far no Sapphira.

Straightening, he looked around the large cave, doing his best to ignore what the rumpled sheets on the bed meant. He glanced at a door off to the side of the cave where he had heard a male’s voice then a much softer female’s voice. The knowledge that his wife had been with other men, that because of some cosmic rule she was not his alone was not a new concept. Seeing it so blatantly before him was not what you would call, comforting. Jealousy so thick he would choke on it if he allowed it to take control swam just below the surface. Part of him wanted to storm into that room, grab Kara and take her somewhere all this madness would never find them. The other part knew if he wanted to find their son he needed the help of the two immortals that were connected to his wife on a cosmic level Brynn could not even begin to comprehend.

Focusing on finding something to help bring Gideon’s fever down. he spied the sink across the room. Making his way over to it, he took in the ratty furniture, papers and books strewn all over the place that were covered with a thick layer of dust. Whoever had lived here had been gone for some time. Kara would have called it shabby chic, one of her home world’s terms. He would have argued it was more of a mess. The smile that thought had brought to his face dimmed as he remembered Kara, or Sapphira, was not only not his wife, but not even from this reality. That once this latest emergency was over, she would leave here and never return.

A wave of vertigo hit him so hard Brynn had to grab one of the kitchen chairs for support. When she had been taken from him by Colin his world had collapsed around him, yet he knew that someday she might return to him. That she was still somewhere in this universe. How was he going to cope when she was completely gone? Then another thought hit him hard. Chris was not his son, not really. Brynn may have been one of the two parts that created him in this universe, but in reality he was some sort of god that would return to his own realm with Sapphira, never to be seen again. That was if they survived. After what Brynn had seen this Malphas do to Gideon and he wasn’t even in the room, Brynn was not so sure they would.

Shaking the thoughts of losing his family out of his head, he turned to what he assumed was the kitchen and began to look for a clean towel. First thing first. Try to keep Gideon from dying, help defeat a demon to save his son and probably the universe at large, then, if he survived, go home to his daughter. There would be time enough then to grieve.

Shaking the dust from the towel he found under the counter, he turned to the old fashion water pump attached to the counter that stood next to the sink. Grasping the handle, he lifted it then heaved downwards. Deep within, there was a hollow gurgling sound that shook the pipes, making them clang loudly. Well, that did not sound good. And the Gods only knew how deep the pipes ran before they hit water. Grimacing, he tried again with the same result. A groan filled with pain from behind him spurred him on. After ten more pumps, water finally started to trickle from the spout. One more and it gushed into the sink. Putting the rag under the spout he gave it one more push, noting how cold the water was as it poured over the towel and his hand. Wringing it out, he returned to the male and placed it over his forehead. Straightening he looked at the cave opening. Where were Sapphira and Fallon? Gideon said they would be here.

The door he had notice before opened and the female that rushed out of it was as unfamiliar as she was familiar. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a loose bun, revealing a face that was so beautiful all Brynn could do was stare open mouth. It was her hazel eyes that lit with mirth and the small upturn of her lips that brought to home that this beautiful creature was his wife. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing.

The thick leather tank top that hugged her curves while covering them up at the same time tucked into tight leather pants of the same dark color. Brynn could not determine if that color was a deep brown or red. A wide deep red belt circled her waist just above the hips. It all had a look of a layer of clothing you would wear under some sort of armor. Unfinished. The bare feet that quickly made their way to Gideon’s side told him what she had put on was in a hurry.

“Gideon,” she breathed hovering over him.

Cracking his eyes open at her voice, Gideon managed a weak smile. “Hey gorgeous,” he whispered hoarsely. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Hush,” she admonished, her eyes roaming his body for any sign of injury. Reaching down, she gently touched his cheek with the back of her hand and hissed when she felt the fever in his skin. “I thought you said he was fine,” she snapped at Fallon, who was standing at the end of the bed frowning at his brother. Brynn took in the sleeveless leather shirt that hung over loose leather pants of the same black color. While he knew this was who he thought was Aden, like Sapphira there was something very different about the male. As if his aura was changed, enhanced, far more powerful than before. It was the same male, yet not.

“He said he was,” Fallon growled, none to pleased he had been lied to. Turning his sky blue eyes onto Brynn, he gruffly asked, “Tell me again what happened when Gideon took the medallion from you.”

Running his fingers through his hair, Brynn blew out the air he had sucked in. He did not even understand what had happened. How would he explain it so the others would? Glancing at the bed, he saw Sapphira bent over Gideon, eyes close, her lips moving silently, her hands slowly circling over his head before moving down his body.

“I’m not sure,” Brynn answered his eyes going back to Fallon. When I held the medallion, nothing happened. It was just a hunk of metal. When Gideon grabbed it took him to his knees. When he started crying out in pain, it took everything I had to pry it from his hand. It was like it was glued to him.”

“Did he say anything?”

Frowning, Brynn tried to remember. Godiva and Satan were yelling for him to take the medallion back, too afraid to touch it themselves lest they too were caught in the trap. He shook his head. “No. At least not that I could hear.”

This time it was Fallon’s turn to frown. Holding out his hand, he asked, “May I?”

At first Brynn did not understand what the immortal wanted, then he remember that Sapphira could read other’s minds, their memories, through touch. Figuring it was the best way for Fallon to understand what had happened, he held out his hand and nodded.

Taking Brynn’s hand in his, Fallon closed his eyes. Very carefully, he searched for the memories he was looking for. When he found them, his frown turned into a scowl.

“Remind me to beat those two within an inch of their lives,” he growled as he watched Godiva and Satan stand as far away from Gideon as the room allowed, yelling at the mortal in the room to save him from an immortal’s trap.

“Only if I can help,” Brynn countered.

“Deal.”

Turning back to the memory, he saw that Gideon’s lips were moving, but he could not hear anything he was saying, and his head was bent so he could not read his lips. Releasing Brynn’s hand, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly to help center himself back in the present.

“Did you find anything?” Brynn asked.

“Nothing I already don’t know,” Fallon sighed rubbing his face wearily with his hands. Resting them on his hips, he turned his attention to the two on the bed. “While Gideon’s consciousness was in the hole Malphas is hiding in, Malphas tried to rip his heart out.” He turned back to Brynn. “You saved him.”

Grimacing, Brynn looked towards the bed. Sapphira’s hands were over Gideon’s abdomen, her concentration solely on the immortal. “Not in time. What is wrong with him?”

“Poison,” Sapphira rasped, her eyes still closed, her hands still hovering over where the physical wound would be if Malphas had actually dug into Gideon’s flesh. “I just don’t know what kind. If I did, I might be able to counteract it before it’s too late.”

“No,” Gideon rasped weakly grabbing her wrist. “Trap.”

“I won’t allow you to die because it might be a trap,” Sapphira growled, turning her arm so she could grasp her hand in his. “I will not lose you to this madness.”

“It’s what we were created for, my lady,” Gideon reminded, his eyes locked with hers. “I could never rest if I caused your death.”

“Malphas does not want me dead. He wants me as his, and he’s willing to sacrifice you to get to me,” Sapphira reminded angrily. “Whatever this poison is, it is not meant for me.”

Gideon collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air, his eyes closed as pain wracked him. “I won’t take the chance you are wrong.”

“He’s right, Sara,” Fallon said moving to the side of the bed next to them, using their nickname for her from a previous Trial.

“No,” Sapphira countered stubbornly. She turned to Brynn. “Do you still have the medallion?”

Nodding, Brynn took it out of his pocket and held it up. Sapphira stood to go to him for a closer look, but a hand on her arm stayed her. She looked at the hand then up into the owners worried eyes.

“Don’t touch it,” Fallon warned.

“I won’t,” she promised. “Trust me,” she added with a smile. That smile grew when Fallon grunted in obvious skepticism. He knew her too well. Gently pulling her arm from his grasp, she moved towards Brynn. “Hold it up,” she instructed.

Doing as she asked, Brynn watched as her eyes narrowed while she studied the markings on the medallion. The urge to pull her into his arms, make sure for himself she was alright, assure her he would allow nothing to harm her, was strong. The imposing figure watching them like a hawk kept him where he was. First they saved their son, then he would think about what happened after that. Right on the heels of that thought, the compulsion to reach for her intensified.

“Sapphira,” Fallon’s voice growled in warning.

Startled by the sudden noise in the quiet, Brynn turned back to see Sapphira’s hand frozen in mid-air. Frowning, he pulled the medallion further away from her. “What happened to trusting you?” he admonishment, an eyebrow raised with disapproval.

Closing her eyes, Sapphira shuddered. “It was calling to me. Wanting me to touch it,” she whispered hoarsely. Opening her eyes, she trained them on Brynn’s. “You don’t feel it?”

Brynn started to shake his head no then stopped. “I feel a strong compulsion to hold you, even though I know now is not the time.”

A small shy smile spread across Sapphira’s lips. “There is always time for a hug,” she teased.

A hand gently wrapped around Sapphira’s wrist, pulling her away from Brynn. Sapphira turned to Fallon who was frowning down at her.

“You took a step towards Brynn and reached out for the medallion again, but you don’t know that do you,” he said.

Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “You don’t feel it? The pull to touch it?”

“No,” Fallon answered turning his attention to the medallion. “The trap was not set for me. It was set for you and Gideon.” He looked up at Brynn. “And it is using every means at its disposal to make that happen.” Making sure Sapphira was safely behind him, his hand still wrapped around her wrist, Fallon took a closer look at the medallion. “That symbol. It looks familiar. Could you put that on the table, over there,” he motioned Brynn towards the kitchen table. Giving Sapphira a considering look, he added, “Then I want you to make sure she stays away from that medallion. I don’t care how you do it, just make sure she does not touch it.”

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Brynn walked over to the table and set the medallion with the symbol facing up on the table. The moment he let go, the compulsion to hold Sapphira decreased. Then he went to Sapphira, hesitated for a moment as he watched her stare at the medallion as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his front. The moment she was safely in his arms, and Fallon did not object but turned to start rifling through the many books and papers filling the space, a weight lifted from Brynn’s shoulders. Especially as Sapphira settled in against him, her arms hugging his against her. As if she belonged there.

“What are you looking for?” Brynn asked, turning his attention back to Fallon, his thumb absently rubbing Sapphira’s arm. A comforting gesture not only for him, but also her.

“When Satan found me as a young Aden, he brought me here to live for the first few hundred years. When I was old enough to read and understand what I was reading, we would spend hours looking for clues about how to work around the boundaries of the prophecy.” Pausing, Fallon grimaced as he looked around the cave. “Caius had told Aden that it was he, not Malphas, who had raised him. Now I wonder if that was entirely true.”

“Why do you say that?” Sapphira asked.

“There are times where Satan would not remember something I told him happened while we were here. Could Malphas had emerged without Satan noticing?”

“Maybe,” Sapphira answered after a moment of thinking about Fallon’s question. “I guess we will never truly know.”

Shaking his head, Fallon returned to his searching.

“Can we help?” Sapphira asked.

Looking around at the mess, Fallon gestured to the farthest stack of books and papers from the kitchen table. “Try those over there. Look for anything that talks about compulsion spells, or poisoning, or that symbol.”

“You think this is some sort of spell?” Brynn asked taking Sapphira’s hand and leading her to the other side of the cave. At first she resisted him, but the further they moved away from the table, the easier she seemed to breath.

“I’m not sure,” Fallon answered thumbing through a book. “But it’s a place to start.” He glanced at Gideon who had grown quiet on the bed. There was a moment of panic before he saw the shallow rise of Gideon’s chest. He was still alive, but for how long? And what about Damien? What was Malphas doing to him why they tried to save Gideon? No matter what disaster they tried to fix first, there was one thing that kept repeating over and over in Fallon’s mind. They were running out of time.

Chapter 39
Chapter 41

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Chapter 39

Fallon looked at the woman he was wrapped around with a profound sense of peace and wonder. He had kept his promise. Once they woke tangled in each other’s arms and legs, he took his time making love to her. They spent hours just touching, kissing, relearning each other, and it still wasn’t enough. Now they lay on their sides facing each other, her legs wrapped around his, her arms loosely around his waist as he held her with one arm while the other hand gently stroked her cheek as they smiled at each other. It had been a long time since he had known such peace. It was like he was finally home, and by the look she was giving him and the way she had made love to him, held him, he knew she felt the same way.

As Aden, when they had been together before Malphas had sent her back to her mortal husband, there had always been a sense of peace, but he never knew what it truly meant. Now that he had all his memories he knew. Knew that outside the Trial, he may have started out as her sentinel, created along with his brother by her mate to keep her safe from those who wished to harm her, but that was not what they were to her now. That after thousand upon thousands of centuries, they had become an essential part of her and her mate’s existence. Maybe even more so than the beings they created before them, their children. Godiva and Satan. Or so those children thought.

Obsession, jealousy, they are destructive emotions. Rarely has anything good come from them. They were emotions that Damien and Sapphira did not know even existed until Satan tried to keep Sapphira for himself and Godiva refused to help find her. Godiva even went as far as to weave tales of infidelity and betrayal in an attempt to convince the god that Sapphira was not worthy of his love. That she, Godiva, was by far the better female because she would never do those things to someone she loved.

Knowing Sapphira was incapable of what Godiva accused her of, Damien realized there was another trait foreign to his existence. Lying. So closely linked in mind and soul, it was impossible for the two immortals to lie to each other or hide from each other, yet somehow Satan was able to mask where he was keeping Sapphira from Damien. When Godiva refused to tell him where Satan had taken his beloved, Damien did something foreign to his very being. He forced his way into Godiva’s mind to find the truth, invading her privacy, essential raping her mind. While she truly did not know where Satan had taken Sapphira, what he did find left him cold. It also brought to home that even though they were the power behind the existence of all, they were also naïve of the intricacies that power had created. Such as hate, obsession, jealousy, vengeance, and the one that Damien was loath to admit he held in abundance, arrogance. Because it was arrogant to assume that what they had created in their likeness would not evolve, grow into something much more. They also learned how deeply their creations felt those emotions, the chaos they could generate, and the most important fact. That love was not as simple nor was it as pure as they thought.

That was when Fallon and his brother came into existence. Created to protect, to be the fiercest warriors in existence, they were also given the ability to feel, hear, see what their masters were hearing, feeling, seeing. They could also sense when someone was lying. When their intentions were not entirely true. Together they scoured the known universe until they found where Satan was hiding Sapphira. Deep in an underground cavern, surrounded by wards to mask its existence along with layer upon layer of traps, and something new. A creature full of hate and destruction. A creature Satan named Demon.

How do you keep the reason the universe is spinning, the creation of all, a being that not only was powerful, but power itself captive? You bind her with a piece of jewelry wrought with evil intent. Beautiful as it was delicate, the cursed necklace that still haunted them to this day had bound and hidden Sapphira so completely that even though she was standing right in front of him, Damien could not see her or feel her. Her sentential could, though.

While Sapphira had essential been unharmed, Damien’s rage at his children’s betrayal was something Fallon had never seen before, nor ever wanted directed at him. It was in that moment that Damien created the Trials. If Satan and Godiva could not learn humility, that life was precious, and that their actions as powerful beings could affect everything they built in the first Trial, they would repeat the Trial over and over until they did. In addition, because of what he had learned in their search for Sapphira, that they had stayed safely in the background for too long and the creations they had thought pure of what they now knew was evil intent were far from it, he and Sapphira decided they would be a part of those Trials. In order to truly learn, their memories would be wiped, their powers bound, and they would live, learn, die as their creations. Learning firsthand the emotions they were unfamiliar with. Unwilling to leave their charges unprotected, Fallon and Gideon joined them.

Not for the first time, Fallon wondered how good of an idea that truly had been. As with any child caught breaking the rules and subsequentially grounded, Satan and Godiva were outraged that they were being so severely punished. The four of them learned early on the act of vengeance as the children lashed out at their unwary parents with atrocities that no mortal or immortal alike should suffer. When the four of them had grown so close it was hard to distinguish one from the other, Fallon had questioned Damien’s judgement on the subject. While Damien had agreed maybe it wasn’t one of his brightest ideas, there was no going back. Once something was created or decided in their realm, unless natural causes came into play, that life or decision was final. There was no destroying the life or going back on the decision. After they survived this Trial, Fallon was once again going to question the God on his decision and maybe his sanity.

It had taken both Fallon and Gideon combined to remove the cursed necklace that first time. It was a memory that had slammed into Fallon when he had fought to remove the accursed piece of metal a few days ago alone. Shuddering, there was not enough hot water to dispel the slimly feel of evil that had crawled over his skin in an attempt to stop him or kill them both. Once he had broken the spell holding it to Sapphira’s neck and she was sleeping peacefully, Fallon had taken the necklace out of this realm into theirs and locked it away in a vault where they kept powerful relics that should have never been created in the first place. That could destroy the very fabric of their existence. Weak and exhausted when he returned, he had curled around Sapphira and slept.

Now they waited for Gideon to arrive. Weak from his fight with Malphas, he could not simple materialize into the cave. Instead they had to take a slower mode of transportation. Fallon grimaced at the ‘they’ part of that thought. While Brynn was an important piece of this Trail, he was not part of them. Once they finished their roles here, he, Gideon, Damien and Sapphira would leave this realm, returning to their own. As an important part of the makeup of this realm, Brynn would stay, where he belonged. Fallon was not even sure the male could survive outside this realm.

“What has put such a frown on your face?” Sapphira asked, a frown creasing her own brow as she reached up to smooth his.

“Just wondering what will happen when Gideon arrives with his…guest,” he answered, that last word filled with disgust. The memories of what the male had said, the lengths he went to keep him and Sapphira apart while Fallon was Aden were still fresh in his mind. No, the male was not one of his favorite mortals. With that thought another emerged. Growling, he realized he had a bone to pick with Gideon on that subject, too. Through the link that they shared and only they could hear, Fallon sent the thought of pounding some sense into his brother with a fair amount of animosity to go along with it. Let him chew on that headache for a while.

Dial it down, asshole, Gideon snapped in his head. You know full well I would never keep you from her if I had known who we were.

Fallon answer was to make a noise of unbelieving.

Sighing, Gideon’s voice filled with the bone deep weariness that he was feeling, I am not who you should be worried about. Brynn’s anxiety and anger are so high I can feel it vibrating the ship. You need to warn Sapphira the emotional shitstorm I’m about to drop on her.

Closing his eyes, the sigh Fallon released went clear to his toes.

“What wrong now?” Sapphira asked warily.

Opening his eyes, he looked worriedly into her as he thought, How long until you get here?

We are coming up on the planet now. Once we land I don’t know. I’m not exactly running marathons here.

How badly are you hurt? Suddenly worried.

I’ll live, Gideon grimaced. Warn her. And he was gone.

“We are about to have company,” Fallon answered Sapphira’s question, “and one of them is not happy.”

Frowning, Sapphira watched as Fallon untangled himself from her and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Placing his elbows on his knees, he rubbed his face wearily. “I am getting tired of this shit.”

“Which part?” she asked curling around him from behind, her hand absently rubbing circles on his back.

“The jealousy. The pain it causes, the destruction,” he sighed. Turning his body so his knee lay on the bed and he could see her better, he continued, “Gideon will be here shortly, but he is not alone. Brynn is with him.”

Sapphira’s frown deepened. “Why would that be a problem?”

“Because even though he knows who we are, he still thinks of you as his wife and me as the enemy. Finding us in bed, obviously fresh from making love will not go over well.”

“Ah,” she smiled. Rolling over onto her back, raising her hands over her head, Sapphira stretched her body. Eyes closed, back arching, she groaned as the wonderful feel of her muscles stretching to their limit coursed through her body. An almost feral growl filled the room. Before she could open her eyes, lips latched onto one of her breasts, sucking hard followed by light teeth biting down. Gasping, she grabbed Fallon’s head, holding him to her as he continued his rough torture. Without releasing her breast, Fallon moved until he was once again laying on top of her. Just as he slid inside her, a roar filled the cave.

Groaning in unison, Fallon placed his forehead against Sapphira’s. “As always, perfect timing,” he growled.

Giggling, Sapphira teased his lips with her tongue. “We could always kill two birds with one stone and take this into the shower,” she suggested huskily.

A wide grin slowly spread across Fallon’s lips. “I like how you think.”

Within a blink of an eye, they were in a large shower with steaming hot water running down their bodies, still closely wedded together. Slamming Sapphira’s back against the tile wall, Fallon claimed her lips as she wrapped her legs around his body and they continued where they had left off, the outside world and its troubles once again fading away.

Chapter 38
Chapter 40

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Chapter 37

“What was I supposed to do?” Godiva hissed. “Allow it to live?”

“Have you learned nothing?” Satan snapped, his anger filling the room, hot and prickly.

As it danced across Gideon’s skin, it brought to his attention the rest of his aches and a whole new meaning to the word pain. What the hell happened to him while he was unconscious? Grimacing as just moving his fingers sent fresh waves of agony throughout his body, the quarrel between Godiva and Satan continued.

“All life is precious,” Satan finished angrily.

“And that is exactly why we are in this predicament. If Father had killed that bastard, Mother and Gideon wouldn’t have had to endure the horrors they did,” Godiva hissed.

If they were trying to keep quiet for his benefit, they were doing a lousy job of it. Stealing himself for what he knew would be far from easy, Gideon tried to open his eyes. When the light hit his eyeballs, pain lance through his brain and he could not suppress a groan.

“Gideon,” Godiva half cried half sighed in relief.

There was a rustle of clothing and footsteps. When Gideon opened his eyes and the blurriness cleared, Satan was leaning over him, worry etching his brow. Rage at the insolent child rushed through Gideon, pushing the pain into the background. With lightening speed, his hand shot up, encircling the little bastard’s neck.

“Give me one good reason why I should not end your existence,” Gideon growled rising enough to rest on his elbow, glaring at the male he held in his grip.

Gasping for air, his face quickly becoming purple as the demi-god struggled to pry the angel’s fingers from around his neck, Satan wheezed, “Because Malphas has Fallon and I may know where they are.” The hand around his neck only tightened.

“And why should I believe anything you say after what you did to us? What you allowed him to do to us?”

“Because he is telling the truth,” Godiva answered coming into view. Wringing her hands, she looked from her brother who was slowly losing consciousness to the enraged angel who lay glaring at her. Barely keeping herself from stepping away in a strong bid of self-preservation, she swallowed hard and whispered, “Gideon. Please.”

It was a few tense moments where Gideon tighten his grip even further before he shoved a half consciousness Satan away from him. His strength draining away at an alarming rate, Gideon collapsed onto the bed.

“Why do I feel like I was hit by a meteor?” he grimaced.

“Father was able to remove the necklace from around Mother’s neck. It was less than…smooth,” Godiva answered from where she knelt next to her brother.

Smooth. That was an understatement. It felt as if every muscle, every bone, had been beaten within an inch of its life. Even his organs felt abused. Rubbing his face with his hands, wincing when even that hurt, he tried to sit up. The room spun sharply, and his stomach heaved. Swallowing hard, he fell back to the bed. “There wasn’t this much pain the last time we escaped him,” Gideon groaned.

“Lie still,” Godiva admonished moving to sit beside him. “We think he modified the necklace, adding more spell and curses to it. If what we witnessed with you was the same as with Mother, it took Father almost a full day to remove it from her, and it wasn’t pleasant.”

No, no it wasn’t, Gideon thought hissing when another sharp pain lanced through his body. And apparently it wasn’t done with him.

“You said Malphas had Fallon. Before I passed out, we didn’t even know where Fallon was.”

“Mother’s mortal husband did,” Satan wheezed. Gideon looked at the male who had managed to sit up, still rubbing his swollen neck. Eyes narrowed, he really wanted to finish strangling the little bastard, but Gideon knew if Malphas really had his brother he was too weak to go looking for him on his own. He would need both of the children’s help to find him. At least Satan had the decency to cringe under Gideon’s anger.

“Explain,” he snapped.

“Their son, Chris, had always seemed older than what he was,” Godiva answered, bringing Gideon’s eyes to her. “I should have seen it earlier, but I had always thought Fallon was trapped outside this universe.”

A vague memory of a cave and Malphas throwing Fallon out of this realm floated to the forefront of his mind. “I remember Malphas saying Fallon was a conundrum. I still don’t know what he meant by that, though.” The more he thought about it, the more he knew there was something…off with what had happened. At the time he was so focused on the necklace and what it meant to him and Sapphira, an elephant could have walked through the cave and he would not have noticed.

“I’m not sure either, but somehow Fallon was able to break in and take the form of Mother’s son without losing his memories.”

“Then why didn’t he reveal himself to us earlier?” Gideon frowned. There was something in Godiva’s expression, her posture. It was so slight that Gideon thought he must have imagined it.

“I think partial because of his age as Mother’s mortal son, and partial because the rules of the Trials stopped him. While he may have known who he was, he needed to be careful so Malphas would not suspect him. As per the rules of the Trial, you, Mother and Father needed to remember who you were on your own. Until then, the best Fallon could do was protect Mother until you and Father were revealed.”

The word ‘memories’ sparked a memory of his own. Frowning, he tried to bring it forward. When it finally did, his eyes widened, turning towards Satan.

“Two thousand years ago, we did remember,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “It was why Malphas killed Sapphira. He knew the rebirth would once again bind our memories.” His eyes darting around the room and more memories assailed him, Gideon continued. “After he pulled us into the Trail, he placed Sapphira and I into Kara and Tanis’s roles, giving us their memoires while keeping Damien locked away in a cave deep underground. We were powerless to stop him, but Fallon. Fallon had retained his powers. Malphas could not control him so he locked Fallon outside of the Trial where he could not interfere.” He looked at Godiva, his eyes wide with recognition of what she was trying to tell him. Things he thought strange then started to make sense. A slight shake of her head told him to keep this new knowledge to himself a little longer.

Suddenly sitting up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, pain exploded within him while the room spun out of control. Putting the heal of his hands to his forehead, his elbows on his knees for support, Gideon groaned as he rode out the vertigo and pain. There was no time to lay around and recuperate. He had to find his brother before Malphas dug his claws into him, or they were all lost. Taking a deep breath and willing his stomach to settle, he sat straight, looking from Godiva to Satan. “Somehow Malphas still held power over us, so Sapphira and I were helpless to fight him. Damien was weak from being dragged in with us, and the rules still held him, binding his powers. How did Fallon escape the restraints of the rules?”

“We’ve been talking about that,” Satan answered hoarsely, pushing himself to his feet. Clearing his throat, he continued, “These Trials were built so we would be taught a valuable lesson. That life is precious and our decisions, or whims, as powerful beings could affect those lives within our control. That we must be careful in those decisions. In every universe we have built, Godiva and I have known who we were. That way our choices in how this Trial played out would be based from what we had learned in the Trials before. In this Trial you were never supposed to be here, and Malphas did not belong. When he escaped and entered this Trail the rules, unknown to us, were altered. When the four of you were pulled in they were altered even more. Once he placed you and Mother in the roles of Kara and Tanis, your memories were bound. Father he kept locked away so he could not interfere. Fallon he did not count on. If I remember correctly, you never mentioned a fourth to him, so he was not ready for Fallon to appear, and sending him back to our plain, locking him out of the Trial, must have weakened him. So he had to wait until he regained enough power to once again manifest here in his true form. Until then,” he looked at Godiva, his expression filled with remorse, “he used us to control you.”

“How do you mean?” Gideon asked, his eyes narrowing.

Adverting his eyes, Satan answered, his voice quiet. “There has always been a voice whispering in my ear, trying to turn me from the path Godiva and I chose for this Trial.” He looked into Gideon’s eyes. “We were tired. We.” Godiva loudly cleared her throat. Closing his eyes, Satan took a deep breath and let it out before once again looking at Gideon, whose expression was not comforting. “Godiva,” he amended, “wanted to do things right this time. Show you that we had learned so we could rejoin you and finally live in peace. I,” he glanced at Godiva, “however, still coveted what was not mine.”

“Sapphira,” Gideon filled in, his voice flat with anger.

Satan nodded. “We were a millennium into the Trial when the voice began to whisper in my ear that he could give me what I wanted if only I would let him in.”

Gideon stood; his expression thunderous. Wisely, Satan took a step back, so he was out of the angel’s reach.

“I never dreamed that one entity could escape their own realm let alone enter another, and the trial Malphas was created in was so long ago I did not remember him. You have to believe me, if I had known who that voice belonged to I would have never allowed him in,” Satan quickly said, his hands up in the air to either ward off the blows he knew were simmering just under the angel’s surface or show supplication. Whichever kept him in one piece would work for him. “As it was, by the time I did he had too much power and I became a prisoner in my own mind. I had to stand by and watch while he did those horrible things to Sapphira, unable to stop him. Right after he plunged the dagger into her heart two thousand years ago, he released me. I awoke with my hand still wrapped around its hilt, covered in her blood. You cannot imagine the horror I felt….”

“I was there,” Gideon snarled suddenly in his face. “Remember? I was holding her in my arms while you sat there frozen like a small child just realizing that there were consequences he could not live with for his selfish needs. So yes, I can imagine the horror of watching the reason I exist die in my arms. The only thing that saved you from sharing her fate was that I died with her.”

Anger flared in Satan, making him bold. “Don’t talk to me about horror. That was not the first time I had to bury her.” Gideon stepped back, this news shocking him enough his anger drained away. “You may remember the end of the last cycle because you finally remembered who you really were. What you don’t know is you have been here far longer than you realize. That you have died over and over, each time Malphas making sure it was my hand that ended her life. Making sure that every time I stayed alive long enough to bury you both before he forced me to take my own life. I know there is no love lost between us, but it about destroyed me to know I was responsible for your deaths not once, but hundreds upon thousands of times.” He turned and walked away a few paces, cursing the tears that coursed down his cheeks. A sign of weakness that he could no longer hold back.

“Two thousand years ago, Malphas was finally strong enough to supersede the rules and keep Satan alive indefinitely. While he waited for your return, he put the rest of the chess pieces into place.”

“Damien as Aden,” Gideon filled in. He turned his accusing eyes to Godiva. “You were the only one who kept their memories intact. Did you know Malphas had possessed Satan?”

“No,” Godiva answered shaking her head. She turned her sorrow filled eyes to her brother’s back. “Malphas was very careful to keep his presence hidden from me.” She turned back to Gideon, who, by his expression, she knew did not believe her. After all they had done in the past, she could not blame his hesitancy to do so. Pushing that problem aside for another day, she drew the conversation back to what was important. “Brynn went to see if his theory was right about Chris being Fallon to find his farmhouse in flames and Chris missing. That could only mean he was right, and Chris is really Fallon.”

“And now Malphas has him,” Gideon finished. Putting one hand on his hip, the other rubbing his face in exhaustion, Gideon turned towards the window, his thoughts in turmoil. If Malphas had been able to capture Fallon, then he must be more powerful than they first realized. Closing his eyes, he reached out, searching. When a familiar male presence washed over him, a tension he did not realize was there loosened in his body. The pain lessened and he could think past the weariness.

Where is Sapphira? Gideon asked, allowing that weariness to fill his thoughts.

Sleeping, he answered with a weary sigh of his own. The memories of what Malphas had done to her were too much. She….

He did not have to finish his thought. Gideon knew too well what Sapphira had felt, even without their connection. The same horrors were trying to incapacitate him as he stood there. Unfortunately, there was no time to come to terms with them. Pushing them into the background where he could deal with them later, he focused on the blue sky outside the window.

Malphas has…our fourth, he announced. There was a sharp intake of air within his head.

I cannot leave Sapphira alone, and I don’t want that bastard to find her until she has had time to recover. How are you doing?

I’ll survive, he answered ruefully. What are you thinking?

I want you to take Godiva and Satan and find him, he ordered.

You know it’s a trap, Gideon said.

Does it make a difference? he smirked.

Gideon had to smile, although it was not a pleasant smile. More anticipatory evil smile. Of course not. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

Always, my brother. Then he was gone.

Gideon turned towards the two demi-gods patiently waiting for him. “Take me to the farm. If I know anything about Malphas, he will want us to find him, so he’ll have left some clues behind.”

“He did,” Brynn said from the bedroom doorway.

As one, they turned to see the mortal dressed in a black battle suit made from material that could withstand the coldness of space without hindering his ability to fight. Over his suit and black boots that reach just under his knees was a dark leather duster that hid numerous weapons from his time as Colin’s assassin, and while he had been on the run with Sapphira that he had been hiding in woods behind the farmhouse. Before them stood not a farmer, but a battle harden warrior whose eyes showed nothing of what he was feeling inside and every bit as deadly as the angel who regarded him with wary eyes.

“We are not going against the mortals you are used to. Malphas is a demon whose power may rival my own,” Gideon cautioned.

“I may be mortal, but I am not naïve when it comes to those with ‘power’. I have a few tricks of my own he will not see coming,” Brynn smirked. “Besides, in this world your Sapphira is also my wife. I will not allow one more power hungry bastard use her as his pawn.”

“Malphas is not after power,” Godiva corrected.

Brynn’s eyes narrowed on the Goddess. “To hell he’s not,” he growled. Taking a step into the room, he narrowed his eyes further. “At the moment, you are not one of my favorite people, Selene. I suggest you stay out of my way. And you,” he snarled, pointing his finger at Satan when he opened his mouth to defend his sister, “I will deal with later.”

With a huff, Satan snapped his mouth shut.

“I like you,” Gideon chuckled walking towards the mortal until he stood next to him. “You can stay. Now, what is this evidence you mentioned?”

“This.” Brynn held up an intricately designed medallion that looked as if it were made of gold.

Frowning, Gideon took it from Brynn. The moment his fingers touched the metal, pain scorched down his arm into his body, sending him to his knees. The bedroom fell away until Gideon knelt in an underground cave. On the wall furthest from him, a figure was gagged and chained hand and foot. Their eyes caught, Gideon’s widening in horror as the figure narrowed his, slightly shaking his head. Then he moved his glare to something the left of Gideon. Knowing what he would find, Gideon slowly turned his head until he saw a figure sitting on a throne made up of what looked like the skulls and bones of humans and demons. The figure was one Gideon recognize instantly.

“So nice of you to join us,” Malphas greeted with a smile.

The cold fingers of dread brought on by centuries of abuse from this creature tried to pull Gideon under, but he fought them off. This bastard had taken enough of his existence, he would not allow him to take anymore. He tried to rise to his feet only to have the pain once again drive him back to his hands and knees. When he tried to let go of the medallion he found he could not. The trap had been set and he had blindly walked right into it. If he lived through this, he would never hear the end of it.

Praying that Malphas did not know who he had chained to the wall, that he thought it only Sapphira’s son he wished to use as bait, he hissed, “Release the child.” Hanging his head, Gideon tightly closed his eyes as the laughter that filled his nightmares filled the room.

“You dare to make demands of me?” Malphas sneered. “You, who with all your power, all your strength could not defeat me?” A clawed hand clamped painfully around Gideon’s neck forcing him up until he was on his knees, the hand that did not hold the medallion clutching the wrist of the hand around his neck. Chains rattled in the silence. Opening his eyes, Gideon found himself staring into crimson ones full of rage. Teeth razor sharp moved closer so Malphas could whisper angrily in Gideon’s ear, “Even now you cannot hope to escape me. I own you and that bitch you stole from me! I will have back what is mine or her son will pay for your disobedience with his life, once I am done playing with him, of course,” Malphas sneered.

Gideon froze. He couldn’t help it. The atrocities that the demon had heaped on him in this Trial were still fresh in his mind. They were something he would not wish on his worst enemy, let alone the brother he would give his life for. Anger pushed back the fear.

“Over my dead body,” Gideon wheezed glaring at the demon.

Moving so his eyes were inches from Gideon’s, their noses almost touching, Malphas hissed, “With pleasure.”

Chapter 36
Chapter 38

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes

Chapter 36

Godiva had just placed the still unconscious Gideon on the bed Sapphira had once lain on when there was another flash by the door. Thinking Damien had returned, Brynn turned to tell him his idea and froze, his smile sliding into a scowl. While he had never met him, Brynn knew the being that now stood in the doorway looking calm yet far from harmless was Caius. Or was it Satan? To be honest, all these new identities were beginning to confuse him. Either way this creature had cause them all a lot of pain.

“You!” Brynn snarled stepping towards Satan.

“Think very carefully, my friend, before you do something unwise,” Satan calmly cautioned.

“You and I have never nor ever will be friends,” Brynn snapped. “Not after the horror you have put someone you claimed to love through.”

“What I have done?” Satan laughed. His eyes traveled to his sister who sat glaring at him. “What tall tales have you been telling today, Godiva.”

“Only the truth,” she answered no inflection in her tone to give hint to what her mood was. Only her eyes spoke of anger and distrust.

“You would not know the truth if it bit you in the ass,” Satan snapped his pretense of a calm evaporating as he scanned the room.

Power flowed out from him, thick and hot, filling the room before pushing outwards. Brynn had a moment to realize how powerful the being before him was before all that power snapped back, pulling him a couple of steps forwards with its momentum.

Satan’s eyes narrowed on Godiva. “Where is she?” he demanded.

“With Father. Where I don’t know,” she answered primly, settling herself back in her chair.

“I felt the wards collapse first, then the barriers that hold their memories snapped,” Satan said, once again calm.  He moved into the room until he stood at the end of the bed staring at Gideon. “And I am not the only one,” his voice confused. Pointing at Gideon, he turned to look at Godiva. “Why didn’t he go with them? They are never far from at least one of their sentinels.”

“He was supposed to look for Fallon, but the chains you helped Malphas wrap around Mother are still firmly in place,” Godiva answered, her voice telling Satan how much this news really angered her. “The moment she disappeared with Father, he collapsed to the floor.”

“Did they take the baby too?” he asked looking around the room.

The silence that followed that question was deafening.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Satan asked after he looked from Brynn to Godiva and back when he received no answer from either.

“Kara…I mean Sapphira, lost the baby,” Brynn finally answered quietly.

Satan’s expression slowly changed from disbelief to rage so fine that Brynn took a step away from the immortal. Thankfully, he then turned that rage onto Godiva.

“What did you do,” he snarled stepping towards her.

To Godiva’s credit she did not even flinch.

“It was an abomination,” she hissed.

“It was my child!” Satan roared his fist hitting his chest as he took another step towards the goddess, who stood up.

“No, Satan. It was Malphas’s. He may have wanted you to believe that in that small reprieve he gave you that you fathered the child, but in reality Mother was already pregnant by then.” When Satan deflated at this news, the loss and horror of what he had been forced to do to someone he claimed to love etched in his expression, Godiva moved that small space in-between them, wrapping her arms around him. With a choking sob, Satan wrapped his arms tightly around his sister, clinging to her as his legs gave out from under him. Taking both of them to the floor.

“I tried to stop him,” he sobbed. “I thought that once I broke free…gasp…I could throw him out…gasp…that I could banish him. He was too strong. He was just too strong!”

Brynn did not know what to make of the seemingly broken man in his sister’s arms. This was not the monster he had learned about through Damien then Sapphira. This male had been just as used and tortured as the others, only his wounds were not on the outside. They were within, and the hardest to heal.

Quietly moving towards them until he caught Godiva’s attention and she looked up, her eyes stricken, Brynn quietly said, “I think I may have an idea where this Fallon might be.”

“Where?” she gasped, desperation thick in her voice.

“I want to make sure before I tell anyone.” He glanced at the still unconscious Gideon. “So far, this demon, Malphas, has been able to take down three very powerful immortals. I don’t want to chance he is somewhere listening to us and I endanger the fourth.”

Nodding her head a little to quickly, Godiva wiped a tear from her cheek. Swallowing hard, she half gasped half whispered, “Good idea. I will stay here and guard Gideon while I try to calm my brother.”

With a small nod of his own, Brynn ran out the bedroom door, down the hallway then stairs, jumping over the dead males, and out the door. As he leaped over the stairs to the ground, he prayed he was not too late. They needed one immortal who had his head on straight, or else he feared they were all lost.

*    *    *

Sapphira slowly became aware of her surroundings. She lay on a comfortable bed in a room that felt vast in size. Open as if maybe they were outside. That didn’t make any sense. Why on earth would she be outside? Opening her eyes, she stared up at the impossibly high ceiling made if rock. Okay. Not what I expected.

I guess the next question was, what did she expect? Memories that were hers yet not fought for dominance with who she knew she was and who she was not. Feeling a headache brewing of magnificent proportions, Saphira took in a deep breath, held it for a moment then slowly let it out, willing her mind to settle into blankness. Once her mind settled she tried to bring forward the last thing she remembered. Two memories pushed their way forward. The first of a farmhouse with three men, two who looked vaguely familiar and one she had never seen before yet also felt very familiar, discussing a danger that lurked nearby. The second was of the Orb room. Of her and Damien watching their children, of reaching out to touch the orb and coming away feeling unclean, sticky.

Sapphira’s eyes flew open as she sat up, gasping for air. They were being pulled into the orb by something malevolent. Something that did not belong in that universe. Something that desperately wanted her and Gideon back under his control. What he ended up with was more than he bargained for.

“Malphas,” she hissed, anger surging through her.

As per the rules of the Trials, the moment they landed hard on the cold dirt covered rock floor of a cave very similar to this one, their powers had been restricted. What did not happen per the rules was that the memories of who they were had not been immediately bound so they could play the roles Godiva and Satan had created for them unhindered. Instead, Damien was instantly put in a large square cage that hung from the ceiling while still disoriented from being pulled through the barriers of their universe into this one. With a cry of rage mixed with disbelief, Fallon had been thrust back out while in mid-stride, sword raised, ready to cleave their captor in two. Before Gideon could rise to defend Sapphira he was gagged and bound in chains from shoulders to feet and left on the dirt floor. No matter how much he struggled, cursed, he could not break free. Sapphira had been left where she landed, groaning in pain both physically and mentally. When she rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes, Malphas was standing over her, smiling, something dangling from one hand, the other behind his back. When Sapphira focused on the vile piece of metal her blood had frozen in her veins.

“Hello, my dear,” Malphas cooed.

Her hand flew to her neck to find it bare. “How?” she breathed looking around her, fearing the worst. That since she had remembered who she was Malphas had her brought back to the cave where it all started. Yet as she looked wide eyed around her, she realized this was not the same cave. It was too big, and too open. The cave they first appeared in felt as if it were deep underground, the earth above them pressing down, suffocating. Then where was she?

Frowning, Sapphira threw the covers off and slipped from the bed, revealing that she was wearing a white linen male’s shirt that fell to mid-thigh and little else. Okaaay. Her frown deepening, she looked around the enormous cave. The bed was at the back away from the large opening that looked out into the afternoon sky. Other than the sky, she could see the tops of trees that told her the cave must be very high. To one side was a kitchen complete with sink and water pump, some sort of cooler that looked like a small refrigerator and a cast-iron woodstove. Shelves lined the grey rock above the counter filled with dishes and cups, and worn cupboards lined the bottom under the counter.

Sitting in front of the counter was a wooden table that looked like it had seen better days surrounded by mismatch chairs. Across from the kitchen was a fireplace hewn into the wall with a fire blazing in it, an old couch, two worn but comfortable looking plush armchairs and a couple of small tables. Cluttered along the walls, on the table, under the small tables, and along the back of the couch were books. Hundreds of books and papers everywhere. Most of them were in languages long forgotten. Some of the books were dry and brittle with age as were the papers. In all, the cave had a feeling of being very old and well used, but where was here? And who lived here? Better yet, how did she get here?

Another question came to her. Where was Gideon? He would have never left her side for this long. Once she woke with her memories returning his would have too and he would have come to her. A chilling thought crossed her mind. If he could not come to her then Malphas must have him, but if that was so then…where was the pain? None of this made sense.

Malphas’s words came back to her.

“I have fought long and hard to find you,” he said, squatting down next to her. Reaching out, he started to touch her cheek with the back of his hand. All Sapphira could do was stare in horror at the demon above her, terror freezing her where she lay.

“Don’t touch her!” Damien snarled, pulling at the bars of his cage hard enough to start it swinging.

Fallon growled low in his throat, his eyes turning black as night. Something that should not have happened if the rules of the Trial were in place. Beside her, Gideon grew still, his eyes riveted on the necklace in Malphas’s hands. Memories, horrors, of the time he and Sapphira were trapped within its spells freezing him in place as they did her. Memories that leaked out onto the rest of them.

Malphas’s eyes moved to Damien’s. “What I choose to do with my pets is no concern of yours.” Then he saw Fallon’s eyes. Frowning, Malphas stood and walked over to stand before his cage. “You, my friend, are a conundrum.”

“Let me out and I’ll show you just how much you do not know of me,” Fallon snarled.

“I think not,” Malphas mused. “I think it is a good thing I reinforced these cages with spells to keep you from using your magic. Even so, if I am to concentrate on what needs to be done, you need to be thrown back from whence you came.” With a flick of his hand, Fallon was thrown towards the back of his cage and with a flash was gone.

“What did you do with him?” Damien demanded.

“Just as I said. I sent him home,” Malphas answered still frowning at the empty cage. When his eyes turned to Damien, they narrowed. “Which is a much better place than where you will be spending eternity my lord,” sneering the title as if it was something vile. Turning his back to Damien in dismissal, his sneer turned into a smile when his eyes landed on Sapphira. “Now, where was I?” he asked cheerfully. “Ah, yes. I was about to reclaim my pets. You were very naughty leaving me,” he chided as he walked to Sapphira and once again squatted down next to her. “For your disobedience I have no choice but to punish you. What better way than to have you play out what I have devised for the heroine and hero of this little story your lovely children have so graciously provided for me.” His eyes moved to Gideon who lay glaring at him. “Although I have made a few…tweaks here and there.” His smile slide into something full of evil intent.

His eyes widening with a fear he rarely felt, Gideon began to struggle harder to get free as Malphas turned his attention back to Sapphira, slowly lowering his hand to her forehead. The last thing Sapphira remembered was that laughter ringing in her ears.

Her fist clutched to her chest, her breathing coming in gasps, Sapphira’s knees buckled and she landed hard on the cold floor, her free hand keeping her from completely collapsing. Staring down at the rock under her, the memories of her life as Kara assailed her. Colin had not been far off when he blamed another for the atrocities he heaped upon her. Although it had not been Caius, but Malphas whispering horrors in his ear, and because of one of those ‘tweaks’ Malphas had place on Kara’s character, she had enjoyed every bit of what had been done to her.

Nausea assailed her; her stomach heaved but she had no food to throw up. It did not stop her from dry heaving over and over until her stomach and ribs ached and her head pounded fiercely, threatening to send her into oblivion.

“Sapphira!” an alarmed voice cried out.

“Damien,” she breathed listing to the side, spots dancing before her eyes. Before her shoulder hit the ground, strong arms caught her.

“I’m here,” he breathed in her ear as he held her tightly to him. “I’m here.”

Her soulmate was here, holding her. Their memories were returning in bits and pieces. They were still weak, yet they must face a demon with enough power to pull them into another universe and bind them to him, keeping them prisoner for thousands of years. The necklace was gone, but were they truly free of his spells? Could they fight him and win? Or would he enslave them once more and destroy everything they had built in his need for revenge?

As the world swam before her, Sapphira tried to stay in the here and now. She could not afford to lose consciousness and put them all in danger. Together they were strong, apart….

“Where are Gideon and Fallon?” she whispered.

“I left Gideon at the farm. I don’t know where Fallon is. Gideon was supposed to look for him and meet us here when he found him,” Damien answered. Shifting her so she sat more upright, he asked anxiously, “Are you going to stay with me?”

“Trying,” Sapphira wheezed, her eyes tightly closed as the pounding in her head increased. With a blinding flash of pain, everything went dark.

Chapter 35
Chapter 37

Copyright © 2019 Heidi Barnes