The Generator: The Succubae Seduction (37 page)

“We still need to warn the other Pillars,” Angela adds, and I see Brooke shudder. The mermaid had tried that and paid the price for it.

“Who can we trust, though?” I ask. “Any one of them could be corrupted.”

That brings silence. Looking around the inside of my car, I realize that not everyone understands the situation.

“Angela, would you mind explaining the pillars and what’s happening to your Shadow World to Lisa and AnnaBelle?” When she nods, I turn to Brooke and suck in a deep breath. “We need to talk privately.”

The maimed mermaid’s chin quivers for a second, but she nods. She has to know what this will be about. She stands and follows me back to the bed.

“Privately,” I repeat firmly as I see Areth following us.

“Oh, you’re no fun!” the fairy pouts.

“Why didn’t you talk to me while you were in my mind?” Brooke asks as soon as we’re out of earshot.

“Because I was more worried about your health at the time,” I tell her honestly. I reach out to grab her hands, but she pulls them away from me.

“You hate me, don’t you? What you said to me before was just a lie.” I can already see tears streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin as she looks down at her clasped hands. “Why did you even rescue me? Did you just heal me, only to hurt me worse?”

“Brooke, no,” I plead with her. “I meant what I said. I
do
love you. Your safety and health are my top priority, yes, but I
didn’t
lie to you.”

Confusion paints her features as she looks back up at me. Reaching out for her hands again, she doesn’t pull away from me this time.

“This probably isn’t the best time, but I need to get this out. I know you were there when my parents were killed. I just want to get your side of the story.” I make sure to keep my voice free of accusation.

Aaaaand again she pulls her hands away from me. One step forward, two steps back.

“I-I can’t,” she stutters. “You really will hate me then.”

“Brooke,” I say softly, reaching out and placing my hand under her chin, “I’ve already figured out a few things, but I want to know the truth. I can’t stop caring for you. You need to know that, but I really need to know what happened. I need to know your side. Who were my parents?
What
were they?”

She turns away from me, but after a moment, she starts talking.

“I was only an apprentice assassin at the time.” Her voice is soft, and I have to strain to hear her. “Your parents were hiding from Lord Varun. They’d already been caught in an illicit affair. They escaped his guards and fled to Earth, where you were born.” As she speaks, her voice becomes firmer as if letting out this secret she’s kept bottled up all these years is a great relief. “I was sent as part of a two person unit to kill your parent’s and you when they were found. At the time I didn’t know who the target was. It was to be my initiation into full assassin status. All my commander told me was that criminals on Earth needed to be taken out, and because one of them belonged to our realm, it was our responsibility. We were given special dispensation to take out our targets on Earth.”

Tears are flowing freely once again, but I refuse to interrupt her now that she’s finally talking. “I grew up with your mother. We were dear friends. She vanished a few years before the mission, and at the time I didn’t know why. I understood when I saw them sitting in the boat. When the time came, I couldn’t kill her or your father. My commander told me that if I wanted to be an assassin, I had to kill at least one of them.”

She turns to face me, and I can see that the worst is about to be said, by the fearful look in her eyes.

“I chose to kill you. I-I couldn’t do it with my blade, and so I chose to drown you. Your mom pleaded with me to spare you, beseeching me to protect her child. As her dearest friend growing up, she begged me, but there was no hope for it. My commander would have killed everyone there, including me, if I failed.”

Her body shakes with sobs, and I think I can figure out the rest. “You tried to drown me in that lake, but I didn’t drown,” I say softly. That must be where I really got my ability to breathe underwater, from my mother and not from Brooke. Which would also explain why I couldn’t transform my legs into a tail. . . .

She nods. “I told my commander that you were dead at the bottom of the lake as he finished cleaning your parent’s blood from his sword. He had been wounded, but refused to let me tend to it. In truth, I didn’t want to. I felt sick over what had happened. We went back to my world, and I was promoted to full assassin. As soon as the ceremony was over, I rushed back to you, but the difference in time. . . . It had already been two days. I feared the worst. What child can survive underwater for two days?” The mermaid hunches over as she sobs, and I place my hand on her back. How old is she? I wonder for the first time. For some reason I never seemed to notice that she didn’t really age as I got older. I guess she’s always just been a permanent spot in my life.

As soon as she feels my hand, she pulls away again. “Don’t touch me,” she says loud enough for everyone else in my car to turn and look. Everyone but Areth turn back away immediately in embarrassment. The fairy watches avidly. “I don’t deserve you,” Brooke continues, her tone only barely softening. “I don’t deserve to even be around you. You were my best friend’s son, and I couldn’t save her. I decided to abandon being an assassin. It was all I’d ever wanted in life, but when I looked into your gray eyes . . . all I could see was her screaming at me to save her baby. You were all she cared about. I vowed to protect you, should anyone ever come for you again.”

Without warning, she sits upright and turns to me, this time gripping my hands in a painful embrace. Her eyes are red and raw from crying, the tears staining her cheeks, but her voice grows fervent. “Hate me, Lyden, because I know I deserve it, but
please
let me protect you. Don’t send me away! I—“

I cut her off with a kiss. It feels like the only thing to do at the moment. She hadn’t killed my parents. She had even saved my life, though she hadn’t realized she was doing it at first. I can’t hate her, for she truly had been my protector through my entire life.

“I love you,” I whisper as I pull back a little.

“But . . . but
why
?” she demands.

“Because. . . .” I stop to think, and give the only answer I can come up with that fits. “Because I do.”

She tackles me to the bed in a fierce hug. You’d never know that just a few hours ago, she had been weak and grievously wounded, with the strength of her embrace.

“Would you two like to get a room?” Lisa asks with a smirk, but when I look at her, I can see pain in her eyes too. I know she’s worried about me leaving her behind for the mermaid and the succubus. I can’t say that her fear isn’t entirely justified either. I’ve admitted to loving the two women from the Shadow world, but not her.

“Only if you promise to join us,” I tell the martial artist. That seems to lessen the pain in her eyes as she smiles and shakes her head.

“You knew my mom?” I ask, turning back to Brooke. “I assume she was a mermaid, then?”

Brooke’s smile is sad. Her eyes are still haunted by her actions, and I wonder if that will ever go away. “She was my greatest friend, and arch nemesis. We competed at everything. She was a faster swimmer, but I was more agile. I had been shocked when she chose not to become an assassin, but looking back now, I know her heart was too gentle.”

“What of my father? Did you know him?” I ask hopefully. My memories are so few of the two of them. I can’t even remember their faces anymore.

Her face gives away the answer before her words do. “I never saw him before that day. I don’t even know who or what he was.” She must be able to sense my depression at this news. “I know he was very powerful, whatever he was. My commander had been wounded while killing them, and he was the best swordsman I ever knew.”

Well, that’s something, at least.

“Lyden,” Angela asks carefully, coming up to us, “I hate to interrupt, but there is more we need to talk about.”

Brooke hurriedly turns away, wiping her eyes clear. We head back up to the middle of my car.

“They catch you up to speed?” I ask Lisa and AnnaBelle.

“Yeah,” Lisa says as the older woman nods. “Basically, if we don’t find a way to stop that light monster, we’re fucked.”

I flinch at her terminology, but that pretty well sums it up.

The rest of the drive is spent trying to come up with a plan to stop the light creature. The only thing we can all agree on is that we need to warn the other Pillars.

I use Lisa’s phone to check my voicemail, and groan as I listen to the messages. The police want to talk to me again, and aren’t very happy I’m not returning their calls. Sheila lance also left a few mixed messages. In the first one, she chews me out and fires me. The second she calls up to make sure I’m okay, and the last message makes me wonder if she’s bipolar as she simultaneously demands I call her back, and tells me my vacation is over, and I need to be back to work on Monday morning.

“AnnaBelle,” I call to the older woman, “I’ve got three messages from Sheila. Have you called her yet?”

She looks at me, her eyes sunken slightly. I truly feel bad for her. The mature woman’s entire life was built on a foundation of faith that had always seemed rock solid, but after the events underwater, that foundation is crumbling.

“I called in before we left and told her that I had a sick friend I needed to take care of,” AnnaBelle informs me. “I didn’t know how long we would be gone.”

At first I’m shocked that she would lie like that, until I realize that it wasn’t so much of a lie after all, just not the whole truth. At least I haven’t lost the woman her job.

The sun is just setting when we pull into Lisa and Becky’s driveway. Annabelle’s SUV is there, driven here by Becky, and she gives quiet goodbyes, before driving away in her large vehicle. I really hope she’s going to be okay.

Becky isn’t home, but Lisa sends her a text, and the short woman arrives within a few minutes. She hugs Lisa furiously, before turning and pulling me into a tight hug, her head resting against my sternum.

“I was so worried about all of you,” she exclaims, wiping tears of joy from her eyes. Then she seems to notice the other women, and blushes prettily. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I guess I didn’t notice you.”

“Becky,” I start, placing my hand between her shoulder blades, “this is Angela, you already know her.”

“The succubus? But I thought she was a . . . well, a punk girl,” she states, confused.

Angela laughs easily, and as she walks forward, her body shortens along with her hair, the hair changing from blonde to blue, and her makeup changing as well.

“Would you quit doing that!” the succubus exclaims, though she ruins it by laughing. “As you can see, I can take the form of whatever Lyden wants.”

“Whatever. . .?” Becky’s eyes turn to me, and I wish Angela hadn’t worded it that way. “Should I dye my hair too, Lyden? Or pierce my nose?”

“Umm, no. I like you the way you are,” I tell her, before sending another image at Angela. “This is what she looked like when she was still human.”

This time Angela doesn’t laugh, but instead glares at me. What did I do?

“Please, don’t,” she tells me through clenched teeth. “In this world I was a slave, and I’m not comfortable looking like this here.”

“You should be proud of who you are,” I tell her. But still. . . . A moment later, she is standing back in her punk form. This had been the way I’d seen her first, and still strikes me as the most
her
version of the succubus.

“And this is Brooke, the woman we went to rescue,” I continue the introductions. “I think you met her once before?”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” the redhead says, stepping forward.

Becky just stares for a moment, before uttering, “You’re beautiful.” Lisa lightly slaps the short woman’s shoulder, and she blinks, her cheeks going bright red.

Brooke just smiles, before saying, “Thank you.”

“She’s a mermaid,” I hear Lisa say, and am surprised that Becky only nods her head. “This is Ondine,” Lisa continues the introductions. “She’ll be staying with us for a bit. She’s also a mermaid.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” the one-time guard states formally.

“Ooh, ooh, is it finally my turn?” Areth comes zooming out. Becky gasps as she sees the fairy. “I’m Arethusa, but you can call me Areth.”

“A fairy,” Becky says slowly in awe.

“Sorry,” I tell the short brunette, trying to hide my smile, “I couldn’t find the fly swatter, and we couldn’t convince her to stay outside.”

The golden colored fairy zips over to huff in front of my face, fists balled up on her petite hips, but everyone else laughs.

Becky then looks around the room, until her eyes stop on me, and I can almost see the gears turning in her head. “With all these supernatural beings around, and the way you helped heal Angela, what does that make me, Lyden?”

“I’ll explain everything,” Lisa tells her.

Lisa catches Becky up on the situation, and I watch as the brunette’s eyes grow larger as the story unfolds.

“Will we be safe here?” She asks when they’re done talking.

“As paranoid as Varun has been, he isn’t like TanaVesta,” Ondine says. “He’ll wait and analyze the situation before acting.”

“Has he really gotten that bad?” Brooke asks.

“Look what he did to you, and you saved him from the Pillar of Fire,” the other mermaid replies.

Brooke looks at her maimed right hand, and then closes her eyes, saddened.

“So, it sounds like there is only one Pillar to go see,” Becky says, and we all look at her. “You’re afraid that the Pillar of Light may be the creature you went up against, or at least one of his minions. The Pillar of Darkness is obviously out as being too dangerous. The Pillar of Earth is the last one.”

“That wasn’t Light or one of his minions,” Angela carefully says, “but I agree with your point on the rest.”

“But what if Gaia has succumbed to the light creature’s influence?” I ask worried, but seeing her logic. She always has been a smart woman.