The Fallen One (Sons of the Dark Mother, Book One) (15 page)

Jes had met her shortly after she
had returned from the Land of the Fae. Mira had told her that Amar
had wanted her to find Jes, but she’d never told her
why.

Four of Mira’s past mates were
there with her. They had been her mates as far back as Atlantis.
Whenever she was with one of them, she frequently became who she’d
been in that lifetime. It was rather confusing for Jes, but Mira
had long since adjusted to it.

The only mate with whom she stayed
as she was—as Mira—was with Micah—and wherever Mira was—one didn’t
have to look far to find Micah.

He rarely was found far from her
side.

Jes knew about these four men in
Mira’s life, had known about them since she’d first met her. But
she couldn’t imagine how confusing it must be for her. Mira would
be the same person as she had been in other lifetimes with
whichever lover she was with at that time—she’d answer to other
names and also take on the behaviors and dress of that past
life.

This actually confused Jes the
most, because while she knew that Mira looked different and that
she’d had different names in her other lifetimes, too—as with
Lucius, Caesar and Roman—from what Jes understood, Mira
actually
was
a
very different person in those lifetimes, whereas in her lifetimes
with Micah, she was very much herself.

Jes relaxed as they visited. She
wouldn’t have to explain her confusion to Mira. Mira would
understand confusion. She had told her all about Justice in
previous visits, about how she had hunted him. Now she told her
about how she felt—how she had always told herself she saw him as a
murderer, after he had disappeared, and she’d convinced herself
that this was why she hunted him. But now, she could remember how
strong her connection had been with him—how she’d always felt for
him—but had stopped allowing herself to remember those feelings
when she’d been blinded by her rage toward him for killing all
those kids.

She’d felt betrayed.

Tears ran down her face unchecked
as she told Mira the truth she had just learned: how it was her own
father that had sent those boys to kill her mate. It was very
difficult to have been so angry with someone for so long—and then
suddenly to realize years later that she’d been so wrong. It was
very difficult to turn around and change all of those emotions in
the blink of an eye. Emotions that had driven her to survive all of
those years, when nearly everyone she’d loved—everyone she had come
to rely on—had all up and disappeared on one fateful
day.

But Mira understood
confusion
. She was
visibly shaken by Jes’s confession of her father’s betrayal. Jes
was touched that she cared so much. And so they talked well into
the late afternoon.

It was getting dark and almost time
for Mira to leave and Mira seemed agitated by this. Jes frowned at
her—wondering what was bothering her. Finally Mira just came right
out and broached the subject of Jaguar Witches. Jes couldn’t have
been more surprised. She wondered why this kept coming up: first
with the barkeep, then her grandmother—and now Mira.

“
I understand that you are one of
the Jaguar witches…?” Mira asked at a near-whisper.

Jes frowned in agitation. “Did you
speak to my grandmother?”

Mira shook her head.

“
Then how did you
know?”

“
Well,” Mira seemed to choose her
words carefully, “I am a Jaguar witch—as you know.”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh, dear,” Mira said suddenly. “I
had hoped there would be an easier way to approach
this.”

Jes gave her a stern look at this.
“Out with it.”

Mira gave a shaky laugh. “Okay.
You’re my sister.”

Jes nodded. “Yes. We are sisters of
the Jaguar People.”

Mira laughed again. It was obvious
she was getting more nervous by the second. “No. You are
my
sister—as in
blood sister
.”

Jes shook her head. “No. That’s
not possible.” She stared at Mira. She could see she was
quite
serious.
“That’s—
not possible
,” she repeated stupidly. Her head had really started to
hammer now.

Mira shook her head. “You’ve had
too many shocks—and yet, I must give you another. I’m sorry, Jes,
but you were—adopted. I was adopted. We were adopted out for
our—protection.”

Jes’s hand flew to her throat. She
crossed an arm over her middle in a defensive mechanism. “But—but
what about Nanna?” she whispered, as she came to her
feet.

“
She is our
true
mother,” Mira whispered back,
getting up and following her.

Jes couldn’t comprehend this.
“And
my mother
…?”

“
Our oldest sister.”

“
And you? Where did they send
you?”

“
They couldn’t—wouldn’t send us
far. Our mother couldn’t bear it. But they had to protect us…,” she
said, gently guiding Jes back down to the sofa. “They had a good
reason for splitting us up… and sending us in different
directions.” She sat down close to Jes. “They sent me with an
aunt.”

Jes swallowed. This was an
unbelievable shock to her…. She stared at Mira—slowly comprehending
the full meaning.

It meant she had
a—sister
. She had never
imagined… wished…
but never
imagined
. “Are there—any more of
us?”

“
Yes—actually. One more. You see,
Nanna is a Jaguar witch—Amar….”

“
Amar—I’ve heard a lot about her….
But—why has her name always been so familiar?”

“
She is our true grandmother…. She
has been keeping a close eye on us.”

Jes swallowed. Her throat felt very
dry for some reason. “Why were they—able to have so many
children?”

“
It was their witch blood. It made
it easier for them to bear children.”

Jes nodded. “So—where is our—other
sister?”

“
Oh, dear,” Mira said, rubbing her
arm. “You appear shocked.” She studied Jes’s face before going on.
“See that’s the hard part…. We don’t know. I—must train
you—quickly—for we must find her. We must join the power of
three—or we will not be able to help Justice when the time
comes….”

“
But the stories of what you did….
From what I have heard…. You have immense power—why would you need
this power of three?”

“
So do you,” Mira said gently.
“You have just forgotten.”

Jes shook her head.

“
You block the memories,” Mira
nearly whispered, “horrible memories of that day. They had to split
us up after that to protect us—to make it more difficult for them
to find us. Our sister—the one you knew as your mother—she had to
take you and go into hiding—change your name. But when they found
you—she was going to leave you behind—with our true mother—and
divert their attention.”

Jes stood again and began pacing.
She turned back and nearly yelled, “
Why
didn’t they tell me
?”

Mira’s expression was gentle. “They
were told to let your memories come back naturally. They were
hoping that you would remember on your own.”

Jes approached her then, and she
knew her expression was anything but gentle. “So why tell me
now?”

“
Jes—we’ve—
run out of time
….”

Jes pulled up short. Memories
flashed through her mind—memories of large, bat-like creatures—but
too large to be bats—they felt human. They appeared out of the
darkness, tearing through the yard where she and her sisters had
been playing. The nanny was telling them that they shouldn’t sneak
out after dark. She and her sisters had started screaming—trying to
warn their nanny. Her sisters were running—running in her
direction—screaming. Then the woman who watched over them, who was
their nanny—was screaming—she was being ripped to
shreds.

Jes was trembling so hard she sank
to the floor. Mira was there in a flash with her arm around her.
Tears rolled, unchecked, down her face—down both of their faces.
After several long minutes she pulled back and stared at Mira—and
then just hugged her close. “Mom—I mean Sandra was
only—what—eighteen? How could she take me on? And why did I
forget?”

Mira stared at her. “You
remember?”

Jes nodded.

“
She was getting married. You were
the baby. It was easier for you to forget. They said that you began
to call her mommy within two weeks of them leaving—that you had
them fixed firmly in your mind as a family—and the doctors told
them to do nothing to jar you—that you would remember when you were
ready—but you never did.”

“
She never had children of her own
then. I—was it,” Jes whispered.

“
She had taken on more of the
Jaguar blood. She had no powers of the Jaguar witch.”

“
And—did you—remember?”

Mira shook her head with regret. “I
wasn’t but a little over a year older than you. I did much the same
thing. I took on my family’s life—and I rejected anything that
threatened to cause me to remember. I didn’t know Amar when I met
her. I didn’t remember anything of the Jaguar People.”

Jes hugged her again. “In that—I
was lucky. I was raised with full knowledge of our people. I was
raised in the full traditions of the Jaguar People. It was the
power that began to manifest when I was around sixteen—that I
rejected.”

“
Why?”

“
Hmmmm, I don’t know. I have never
let myself think about it for too long. I think it threatened to
force me to remember. I wouldn’t have anything to do with it.” She
got up off the floor and reached out her hand to help
Mira.

“
And then the barkeep called me a
Jaguar Witch—and I felt stripped bare. All I could think was—how
did he know?”

Jes sat back down on the couch.
Mira sat next to her.

“
So—how does it feel to know you
have a sister?” Mira asked with a laugh.

Jes smiled widely. “It feels
pretty… amazing actually.”

“
I know—huh. I’ve wanted to tell
you since the first time I saw you. I was so upset when Amar
wouldn’t let me. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done—not
telling you. I was—just so happy to know I had sisters. But
then—you didn’t remember. And Sandra was missing—and….” Mira looked
down—a sad look crossing her face.

“
I know.” Jes felt choked up, too,
at the thought. “I didn’t even know she was—my sister,” she
finished quietly. “It’s all so hard to grasp.”

Mira grabbed her hand and gave it a
squeeze. “Do you think you can begin training—soon?”

Jes nodded. “Give me a little time
with these other lessons.”

Mira nodded and got up. “But I’m
coming back to see you—very soon. And you know that Amar will want
to come see you right away.”

Jes followed her to the door. Mira
opened it, and turned back to hug her.

“
Did they tell you to tell me?”
Jes asked after a moment. Now that she found she had a sister—she
didn’t want her to leave—even for a little while.

Mira shook her head. “No. And Amar
is going to have a fit.” She giggled. “But I have felt
this—urgency—lately. I had to come—I had to tell you. That’s all I
know.”

Jes nodded. “I’m glad you did,” she
said softly.

Jes went straight to bed, but no
matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t go to sleep. She tossed and
turned. She was simultaneously excited and grossly overwhelmed. She
didn’t know whether she should laugh—or cry. She didn’t know how to
feel.

It felt as if her whole life had
been one big lie. Yet, she couldn’t be happier to know that it had
been.

She didn’t know what was up—and
what was down. The mother she had loved—had been her sister. The
grandmother she had loved—had been her mother. She had three
sisters—and hadn’t remembered them at all. And now—she was one of
the power of three.

How could she possibly process any
of it? But most of all—how could she process
that
? She had rejected all signs of
her powers—forced them down—tamped them down with growing
determination.

She knew what these powers
were—even though she hadn’t been told anything. She had been raised
around all things supernatural.

She knew what such powers
were.

She just hadn’t
wanted to know.

Chapter
Fourteen

Jes and Justice

In spite of all of the
guards
, Jes woke to find an uninvited male
in her room that night. She sat up in a rush—and it wasn’t her
usual fearless façade that came rushing through.

A deadly enemy was in her room. She
could see that easily by the glow of his eyes. But she could smell
him, too.

“
Dracon,” she intuited. “What do
you want?” she breathed, trying to get her rapid heartbeat under
control.