Between Light and Dark (5 page)

Axiom touched her arm again, and the now-familiar frisson of the yearning rushed through her body. "Let me explain how this came to be."

"Fine. Talk," she said.

If he was talking, time was ticking, and the drug would
be wearing off. But how had he drugged her in the first
place? She bit her lip.

"When you were between lives, you volunteered for this
mission," Axiom said.

"I volunteered?"

"Yes, to assist in bringing the Earth Balancer." Laurell's
confusion must have been stamped across her face, because
he added, "The Earth Balancer is the one mortal who can
keep Earth from being overrun by dark, destructive forces."

"Riiiggght," she drawled. "So, this person has the ability
to ward off evil?" He nodded. "You mean a person who has
superpowers or something?"

"In a manner, yes. His very existence, his-" He frowned,
as though searching for the right word. "His DNA has a special quality that counteracts the Dark. It works in a similar
manner to my own ability to battle the Umbrae in the higher
realms."

"You make it sound like we're in the middle of a war,"
she said.

"Yes, a war." Axiom nodded briskly. "One that has been
waged since time began. Between the forces of Dark and
Light."

She frowned. "Why do you need this Earth Balancer?
Why not just send more gods down to protect Earth?"

"The Light Gods have attempted this previously. Unfortunately, when you shine light into darkness, the darkness
disappears only temporarily. Once the Light returns to its
source, as it must in order to revive itself, darkness returns.
And as for the Grays, our ability to neutralize the Umbrae
is not as effective when we are in the flesh. We're able to
fend the Umbrae off temporarily, but doing so greatly depletes our energy."

"How is the Earth Balancer different?"

"He will be a being of flesh and will carry both the light
and dark energies of an immortal Gray. The Earth Balancer
will possess the ability to neutralize the Umbrae on the
Earth plane."

"I see," she said, studying Axiom more closely. His chiseled features, dark hair, piercing gray eyes, and muscular
build were like something out of one of her hottest dreams.
Focus. Kidnappers are not sexy.

"You called yourself a Gray. What is that exactly?"

"I belong neither to the Light nor Dark, but contain elements of both, thus the term Gray." His eyes clouded. "I am
a Balancer on the higher planes."

"Mm-hmm," Laurell agreed, though she had no idea
what the man had just said.

"Are my words unclear?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"I detect confusion in your features."

She sat up straighter and cleared her throat. Be nice, she
reminded herself. You're supposed to seem interested; placate
the man. "No, I get it. Really. You're here to bring the Earth
Balancer."

"That is correct. It is important that you fully understand. Please ask for clarification when needed."

It suddenly occurred to Laurell she had been in Axiom's
presence for what had to be almost two hours, and he
hadn't made any move to harm her. He clearly believed the
things he told her. She sighed, allowing herself some relief.
So maybe her worst fate was rape. A horrible enough thing
to be sure, but better than death. Perhaps he'd convinced
himself of this whole elaborate story to keep from admitting that he would be taking her against her will.

"I still don't understand my role in all of this. Or yours
for that matter."

Axiom leaned forward. "I am certain I explained this to
you already. I am to father the Balancer. You are to be his
mother."

The words rang in Laurell's ears. Tears pricked her eyes.
There was no way he could know. No way. But his oh-socasual statement twisted like a knife through her gut just
the same.

"Fuck you," she ground out.

His brow furrowed. "I do not understand your anger."

"Of course you don't. You can't possibly understand the
irony of you and me having sex to give birth to some supernatural baby who's going to save the world."

Laurell forgot about her plan to stay calm. In the space of
a few weeks she'd lost her grandmother and her mother, had
been kidnapped and then drugged into almost screwing a
stranger. Now this? She wanted to cry. Instead, she laughed,
a raw hysterical sound that burst out unbidden.

Axiom's spine went rigid, and he crossed to the couch
and lay down.

Laurell's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"Going to sleep."

"In the middle of a conversation?"

"Yes. I find I am not as amused by our situation as you."

"You think I'm amused?" she retorted.

"Your behavior would indicate it, yes. Apparently mating with me is a laughable matter to you, but it is, in truth,
gravely important." Axiom closed his eyes, dismissing her.

Laurell's jaw dropped. He seriously intended to ignore her
and go to sleep. Fine. She didn't care. She'd had enough of
his crazy stories anyway. And the exhaustion she'd experienced ever since they'd met was catching up with her.

Her limbs responded slowly as she yanked the covers
back from the bed and crawled atop the mattress. She
didn't bother to remove her shoes or socks, just in case she
got an opportunity to make a run for it during the night.
Maybe while Axiom slept she could look for a way out or at
the very least search for a weapon in the kitchen. She was
dubious about her ability to fend him off should he decide
the time was ripe for-what had he called it? Oh yeah, a
mating-but she'd put up a fight he'd not soon forget.

She pulled the comforter up to her chin. Axiom turned
off the lamp near the couch. The couch springs screeched
in protest as he settled into his makeshift bed.

"Go to sleep." His words sliced through the darkness as
though he knew her plan to stay awake and attempt escape.
"You are weak from the yearning, as am I. I can only ward
for both of us for so long. Especially when we are this close.
Tomorrow, I will teach you to ward for yourself."

What was this warding thing he kept mentioning? She
opened her mouth to ask him, but couldn't get the words out.
Her mind was foggy. What was it she was supposed to do?
Something important. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but
for the second time that day, she fell into darkness.

Today, I'll escape. The words reverberated in her brain as
she woke. Laurell opened her eyes and surveyed the unfa miliar room thinking she'd slept very well for someone
who'd been kidnapped. Bet Axiom would say it was from the
yearning. More likely it was from the drugs he'd given her.

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she bolted upright
in bed. The details of the day and night before flooded into
her mind. She crept from the bed to the couch, half
expecting Axiom to still be asleep on it. It was empty. Realizing she alone occupied the room, her heart slowed.

She exhaled and the air clouded. Without the warmth
from the fire, the room had grown frigid.

Laurell shivered and slipped into her coat. She crossed
the room. As she'd suspected, the only door to the apartment was locked. And after tearing the place apart, she located no phone. She did manage to find a sharp kitchen
knife, and she wrapped it in a kitchen towel that had a
ridiculous picture of a dancing block of cheese on it. She
carefully tucked the weapon in her jeans, but seriously
doubted her ability to use a knife on the man.

She was not a violent person, and he was more than
twice her size, but having it gave her some small measure of
comfort. Realizing Axiom could return at any moment, she
began a mad scramble about the place.

There were only a couple windows, set up high. A
dresser along the far wall caught her attention. Ten minutes and a lot of muffled groaning and strained muscles
later, she was able to push the dresser under the window.
She climbed atop it and found herself at eye level with one
of the windows.

Hiking her body up to the window ledge with nothing to
lever herself could present a problem. Laurell scanned the
room again and spotted a small step stool in the kitchen.

She placed the stool on the dresser and climbed up on it.
It teetered precariously, and she sucked in a breath and
stilled her movements. The window had no latch; it clearly wasn't meant to be opened. She'd have to break it. Gritting
her teeth, she performed a mental checklist of the items in
the room that could be used to smash the glass.

"Do not even think of it." Axiom's voice broke through
her thoughts, and she jumped in surprise, losing her balance.
Her frantic swipe at the window ledge proved ineffective.
She careened backward and straight into Axiom's arms.

Axiom held her as though she weighed nothing. His jaw
clenched, and a pulse beat erratically at his throat. Anger
seeped from his skin until the air grew pungent with it.
Laurell tensed and forced herself not to flinch under the
harshness of his piercing eyes.

"Stop it," he muttered.

"Stop what?"

"Fearing me."

Laurell frowned. "In case you haven't noticed, you're sort
of scary," she retorted.

"Were you afraid when I kissed you last night? Or when
you were grinding yourself against me?"

Heat flooded Laurell's cheeks, and she pushed at his unyielding chest. "Put me down. Now."

Axiom's eyes narrowed, and he looked for a moment as
though he would refuse, but he released her. Once she stood
on her own, Laurell backed away from him. She took a seat
in one of the chairs before the fireplace and pressed her
hands between her knees to hide their trembling. The drug
finally must have worn off. She was afraid.

Axiom sat across from her, and though she stared at the
fireplace, she could sense his steady gaze.

"I understand your fear. I know this situation is nothing
you could ever have imagined or prepared yourself for."
Genuine concern tinged Axiom's words and made Laurell lift her head. What did he know? An insane man who insisted he was a god and went around kidnapping women,
promising them babies and making them sex crazed couldn't
possibly understand her heart.

"You don't know squat," she finally said.

"I know you better than you think," Axiom told her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Laurell spat out. Who
did he think he was anyway? I am a god made flesh. His
words from the evening before flooded back to Laurell,
sending a shiver through her limbs.

Axiom sighed. "Laurell, this resistance is accomplishing
nothing. We waste valuable time. I must be able to trust
that you will not attempt to flee every time I turn my back.
You need to understand the seriousness of your actions."

Before she could respond, Axiom stood and crossed the
distance between them. He knelt in front of her chair and
yanked her hands from between her knees, clasping them
between his.

"I am sorry for this."

"For what?"

A moment later, she knew exactly what. The room went
black. A wave of energy hit her. It was nothing like the pleasure of the yearning. It held a desperate, dark note. Grief and
hopelessness enveloped her.

She saw creatures, ugly and twisted, their blackened, scaly
bodies bloated and vile. She smelled sulfur, thick and putrid,
and it filled her nostrils and twisted through her lungs. One
of the creatures reached out thin, withered fingers toward
Laurell, beckoning her. Its other hand burrowed into the
tangled mass of bodies that lay next to it. As it did so, heads
lifted, and those poor souls tangled in the mass cried out.

She sensed the fear and despair of millions of souls,
trapped in the Dark, kept forever from reaching their rightful home in the Light.

Their screams pierced Laurell's eardrums, plunged into
her own soul, and filled her with terror.

She shrieked, and their cries mingled with her own. She
could no longer tell where their pain ended and hers began.

The vision ended just as abruptly as it had begun. Laurell
blinked, realizing she was back in the safe house.

Her breath was labored, shallow. Axiom hovered over
her, granite eyes fixed intently on her face. Her heart fell
back into her chest. She jerked away from him and scrambled backward until her spine hit a chair. How had she
ended up on the floor?

Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her legs and
rocked herself. Her eyes stayed open wide. If she closed
them again, would she see those creatures? She shuddered
at the thought.

Axiom rose and returned to her side moments later with
a glass of water. He forced it into her hands. Minutes passed
while she sipped the water and regained her composure.

"Explain what just happened. What were those things
and how the hell did you do that?" Laurell's voice came out
edged with the horror of the vision she'd experienced.

"They are the Umbrae. They are those who would wipe
out the Light and rule the Earth. I shared a re-visioning
with you, a memory of mine."