Dovetailed (7 page)

Without thinking Michael blew her a kiss. It was cheesy, but it’d been what was in his heart. If his friends on Earth could’ve seen him, they would’ve made fun of him.

Venus reached out as though to catch it and placed her fisted hand over her chest.

She watched her irrihunter and her husband fly away, up through crack in the earth, past the sea, and into the ashy gray night. Their silhouettes hung against the sky momentarily before Sadraden shot out of sight. It was one of those moments she’d never forget, as though she died and came alive at once. A scream ripped from her throat and she fell to her knees and then to the dirty ground. She lay for a long time, unable to move.

At last, she rose. She’d been sad long enough and there was much to be done.

Her power ignited. She was a god, and this world needed saving. Focusing on the castle, she imagined herself there. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and…

She stood in her room. It felt like forever since she’d been there. The bed, the vanity, and her overstuffed green chair remained just as she’d left them.

It felt like several lifetimes ago.

She’d brought a piece of cake from her sixteenth birthday party. Her sister had come in and given her a necklace with an irrihunter charm. They’d talked, and that was the last thing she remembered until she arrived on Earth.

Her sister had sent her there to die. Then she’d killed Sadraden and her unborn baby.

Emotions—anger, sadness, hurt, and betrayal—overwhelmed her. She lowered herself into her favorite chair. She needed to focus. The things her sister did were for her benefit, in the end. They’d led her to Michael.

Besides, regret meant nothing.

There was a knock on the door. It shimmered open. She stood as Zaren, Palamina, and Seth walked in.

“How did I know you’d arrive before we did?” Zaren said with a tight smile.

Venus shrugged. “A god’s gotta do what a god’s gotta do.”

Palamina laughed, pushing her red hair over her shoulder.

Seth smiled.

Zaren winked, his emerald green eyes bright for the briefest moment, and then he grew serious. “What do you need?”

She walked to the window. Fires littered the landscape. If she didn’t know any better she’d think she was still in Helker. The beauty and majesty of her beautiful land was gone. Instead of large trees, foliage, flowers, streams, and paved roads with butterflies dancing in the sunlight, there were charred remains and clouds so thick with ash she couldn’t see Nimbus, the city in the sky.

Without turning around she said, “We need a plan.”

“Where’s Michael?” Palamina asked.

Venus fought down her sorrow. “He’s on a mission at my request.”

Seth stepped forward. “You said you needed something of me?”

She turned. “Yes, Seth. The first thing I need you to do is go to Nimbus. Find a swordsmith by the name of Hamel and tell him you need four hundred Daemon swords made as quickly as possible.”

“Daemon?” he asked.

“Don’t worry, Hamel will know what I’m talking about.”

“Yes, Venus.” He bowed.

“And Seth? Stay and wait for Hamel to complete them. Protect him. King Antyon will release the Leviathan species on all of Kelari soon. Hamel will be one of the first Kelvieri he goes after. Without the Daemon swords Hamel makes, we will be unable to defeat King Antyon and his creatures.” She stepped forward and placed a hand on his forearm. “Please do this for me.”

Seth retreated and bowed slightly. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Seth went to the door. “How do you want me to get there?”

“Take a Tricarciuss.”

“Yes, goddess.” He left the room.

Palamina rested her hands on her hips. “And what do you want us to do?” she asked.

Besides being beautiful, Palamina also turned out to be personable and kind. She gave off an easy energy and she seemed happy to be back with Zaren. They fit together. Where Venus had cared for Zaren—loved him, even—it was completely different from how she felt with Michael or the way Zaren and Palamina looked at each other.

Venus still wanted to hate her.

“We need to find out what’s going on. We need to see who’s still alive, who’s part of the resistance, and what, if anything, is being done.” She knew there were several Chans running Alayeah’s war efforts. She also got the sense that some of the Chans weren’t completely honorable.

“I’ve seen the war room. Follow me,” Zaren said.

Venus followed him and Palamina to the door. She suddenly remembered her fear of doorways and wanted to laugh. If only she could go back to that time, when the scariest thing in her life was worrying about what lurked on the other side of a door.

“What about those whose bodies I restored? Did any of them wish to fight?”

“There are a few.” He found her eyes. “Most went in search of their families. I think in a few days many will come to fight.”

Venus nodded. She figured the souls she’d just given back their bodies would want to find their families first. War was a new concept to most Kelarians. Soon enough they would understand war wasn’t forgiving. King Antyon would make the time the souls had spent in Helker would seem like paradise. “There may not be a world to fight for in a few days.”

She stopped in the doorway, just now remembering her disheveled appearance. “Before I go in I need to clean up, or none of those pompous bureaucrats will take me seriously. I would appreciate it if you and Palamina would go ahead and collect whatever information you can, then you can brief me when I arrive. I’ll be right behind you.”

Zaren squinted his eyes. Even now he was her guardian, her protector, but she couldn’t have him nearby with Palamina there. It was too uncomfortable. “We can wait,” Zaren said

Palamina touched Venus’s arm and then pulled away, a look of surprise on her face. Venus hadn’t meant to, but she’d shocked her. The woman needed to keep her distance until Venus could deal with her emotional issues. “Yes,” Palamina began, looking at her hand, “we can wait.”

“No, really. I’m not a Kelarian princess any longer.” Venus straightened to her full height.

Zaren’s features softened. “I know, but you’ll always be my Princess.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. She took it and he squeezed.

“I appreciate it, Zaren. I do.” She glanced at Palamina and noticed the jealousy straining against her lips. “I appreciate both of you,” she said, focusing her attention on the female Formytian. She wanted to put Palamina at ease. Venus hadn’t intended to do anything to offend her. She and Zaren had responded to each other out of habit. Nothing more. Even Zaren saw the error of what had just occurred. She felt his guilt.

Venus moved her hands, placing them at her sides. “I’ll be fine. I just need a moment…” She paused to consider her words. She wanted to wash off the remnants of Ramien and Helker. She needed to change her clothes and with her newfound powers, she could make it happen quickly. Finally, she added, “. . . to collect myself.”

Zaren seemed ready to fight to make her let him stay, but Palamina grabbed his hand.

“Give her a minute, Zar.” She batted her long thick eyelashes like she was the spoiled princess.

Venus felt a groan rise and beg for release, but she pushed it down.

“Fine. But if you aren’t in the war room in twenty minutes I’m coming back.”

Venus smiled. “I would expect nothing less.”

They started down the long hall, their Kelvieri’s boots clicking against the marble floor. Right before they turned the corner, Zaren glanced back. Venus raised a hand and waved. Zaren nodded and disappeared down another hall.

Venus leaned against the doorway and sighed, then turned and went into the bathroom. Technically, with her newfound powers, she didn’t need a shower. Her body was always automatically clean, but years of showering couldn’t be erased after one transformation. She turned on the water. It sprayed out, hitting the scratchy, slip-proof floor. Quickly removing her clothes, she touched the water to test for heat. It felt good.

She stepped in, allowing the water to run over her body. It immediately relaxed her. She wet her hair and let the water cascade against her face. She took the cleaning tablet and washed her hair and her body. Finally she stepped out and allowed herself to be dried. Then she went to her closet.

Everything was just as she left it: all of her clothes, her shoes, her unisas, but she couldn’t find anything she liked. Finally she realized it wasn’t that she no longer liked the clothes, it was that the clothes no longer suited her. She was a god and needed to look like one.

She closed her eyes and thought of Aetha. The Goddess usually wore dresses. That might work to meet people and perform transformations, but this was war. She thought of the Formytian uniform. The material protected against most anything, including other Ostwallow swords, but it wouldn’t protect against the Leviathans. They would rip through the material like it was paper.

She’d given every person who’d received a body in Helker extra protection, but she feared that still wouldn’t be enough.

There was a knock at the door. “Venus?”

It was Zaren and she smiled. “Coming.” She pictured her gauzy dress, the one from her party, and imagined that, but in the shape of a Formytian uniform. The material conformed to her body as though Cairna spiders spun it right onto her. When she looked down, she was dressed in a uniform similar to the Formytian, only white instead of onyx. The black belt that encircled her waist was the same material as her Kelvieri’s boots. She waved a hand over the Carania family crest and waited for the door to shimmer open.

Zaren stood waiting. “It’s been twenty-five minutes.”

Venus noticed Palamina wasn’t at his side.

“Let’s go. The Chans are waiting for you. There’s been a development.”

“Cret,” she swore.

“Exactly.”

It was strange flying past the alien ships shooting at each other. Sadraden dove and spun out of the way as though she were a jet plane. Michael clung to her mane and hugged her close, laying his body flush against her. He knew with the way she was flying that he should’ve fallen off, but he didn’t.