Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds (12 page)

The Oracle had prophesied the end to her the last time she had refilled her energy reserves. The demons who asked the Oracle for advice had to offer a portion of their stolen soul energy in return, as “payment”. Kitana had learned from Ilaria, High Priestess of the Oracle, how she could use this energy for her needs. There was too much good in her to rob men of their souls — thanks to her ancestry. Now she felt almost on the verge of feeding on James’ soul, so great was her hunger. That must not be allowed to happen!

She had long since severed the mental link to the other demons in order to keep them off her trail. But that required a great deal of energy. Soon she would no longer be able to maintain the blocking magic, and the underworlders would find them right away.

Kitana could see only one way out: She had to leave her family. Silvan and Marla were still too young for the others to be able to create a mental connection and discover their location, and James was protected by the silver amulet with the gleaming red stone in its center: the eye of Horus. As long as he wore it, he would be invisible to demons. It had helped protect Kitana herself from being found as well.

“Mama, please,” Marla pled, flinging her arms around Kitana’s neck.

Don’t make this so hard for me, little one
, she told Marla telepathically.

“Marla’s right.” James walked over to them. “Stay here, it’s too dangerous. I can buy myself another laptop.”

“All your work is saved on it, and I feel bad that I forgot to pack it,” she said. Of course she had packed James’ computer; it was tucked away in the bottom of his suitcase. James would find it. He needed it — they lived from the money he earned as a translator. “I know how much it means to you. I’ll make a portal directly to the hotel room, grab your laptop, and come right back.”

Kitana wanted to cry, but she had to stay strong. Her children’s future depended on it!

James cursed softly. “If I had worked a little harder during my watcher training or finished it, I’d be better at translocation.” Frowning, he looked at Kitana. “Sorry, it’s not your fault. I’m just mad at myself.”

“I know,” Kitana whispered. She set Marla on her hip so that she could put her hand on the amulet around James’ neck. She enjoyed feeling the weight and the warmth of the child clinging to her. Then Kitana kissed James, who passionately returned her attentions. How she loved the man!

Kitana knew that this would be their last kiss. The other demons were about to track them down. Without the amulet and the blocking spell, she functioned like a homing beacon. She had to hurry!

She reluctantly pulled away from James and set Marla down on the floor at her feet. Then she stroked her son’s hair. Silvan groggily opened his jade-green eyes and looked at Kitana. The future of the underworld was lying in James’ arms, and he could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

A log on the fire made a cracking sound, sending up sparks, and Kitana flinched. She had never felt such fear. All her senses were on alert and her heart was beating frantically, but she didn’t let it show. She gave her son a soft kiss on his upturned nose and breathed in his scent, trying to hold back her tears. Her chest tightened as she took a few steps back to look at the three people she loved most in the world one last time.

With her hand, she drew a large circle on the wall of the wooden hut. A portal immediately materialized. Through the hole, Kitana could see the hotel room in France that they had left the day before.

Kitana signaled to James that he should put the amulet under his shirt; the protection only had its full effect when it was in direct contact with skin.

James and Silvan immediately disappeared from sight, and even Marla was invisible, as the protective circle extended out a meter from James. It was good that she could no longer see her family; it made parting from them easier. She quickly stepped through the portal, and when she turned around, she saw only the fire burning in the fireplace of an apparently abandoned cabin. But suddenly, before she could close the portal, she saw Marla run up to it and jump through. The portal disappeared, and Marla was standing with Kitana in Provence, five thousand miles away from James and Silvan.

“Marla!” Kitana felt a wave of nausea. She sensed that the others were close by, and she didn’t have enough strength to create another portal. She had used the last of her magical reserves for this moment. All she had wanted was the knowledge that her family was safe.

“Oh, no, Marla!” She swept her daughter into her arms and buried her nose in the girl’s black tresses. “If only you had stayed with James …”

“Where is your son?” The familiar voice echoed through the room. “The Oracle told us of his birth.”

Kitana spun around, clutching Marla even tighter. “Obron!” It was terrifying to see him again after such a long time. The tall demon in the long, grey robe loomed threateningly before her. Behind him, two others of his kind stepped out of a portal.
The High Council …

“That’s right, Kitana!” Obron’s poisonous glare bored into her, and he used his mental powers to force her to her knees. “You’re pathetic. Mating with a human!”

Obron’s attention turned to Marla, who was clinging to Kitana, trembling. “Where is the child?” he asked again sharply.

Kitana’s voice wavered; she could barely breathe. “You’ll never get him!”

“It is his destiny, Kitana! He is our future Overlord — even though he’s half human scum, that is the law!”

The demons would never tolerate a half-blood on the throne. Obron only wanted Silvan so that he could manipulate him and exploit him for his own purposes. Kitana had known Obron long enough to recognize his true intentions.

At his nod, the other two demons moved toward her, tearing Marla out of her arms. The child instantly began to cry. “Mama!” Marla reached out her arms toward her mother.

Kitana’s blood pounded in her ears, and her throat tightened as she saw Marla try in vain to free herself from the two high lords, who clawed their fingers into her hair and pulled her back.

“Mama?” Obron spit on the floor. “You’ve ruined our daughter with your human ways! It’s a good thing I’ll be overseeing her education from now on.”

“Please, don’t take her away from me!” Kitana threw herself at Obron’s feet in desperation.

He snorted contemptuously and kicked her in the stomach. “You’ve become weak, wife. You’re a disgrace to us all! I should have foreseen it.”

As Kitana doubled up in pain, clutching Obron’s leg, she drew as much energy from him as she could. She was lost, but she had to get her daughter away from here.

“Where is the eye of Horus?” Obron asked. “I know that you have it!”

“I’ll tell you if you let Marla go,” Kitana whispered, taking care not to let Obron or the others into her mind. She had previous relied on the eye of Horus to protect her from mental attacks. Obron must have just read her thoughts to discover its uses. No one had ever discovered who Kitana really was, and no one could be allowed to discover the location of the scepter. It was Kitana’s duty to protect it. It was her ancestral responsibility.

“How can I believe you, traitor?” Obron cried angrily. “You gave it to the human, didn’t you?”

“At least let me say goodbye to Marla, my lord,” she said submissively. Her whole body was shaking, her heart raced, sweat ran from every pore, and black spots danced before her eyes. She was so afraid!

Obron hissed like a snake. “Why should I do you this favor, traitor?”

“Please, she’s my daughter! I only want to say a last goodbye.”

Unexpectedly, Obron gestured to the others, who let the screaming child go. Marla immediately ran to her mother and threw herself into her arms.

As soon as you see the portal, you run through it
, Kitana told her child in her thoughts.
Do you understand?!

Marla looked at her, wide-eyed, as if to say,
I’ll never leave you, Mama!
Marla could receive thought messages, but couldn’t yet send them; her mind was not yet mature enough.

Kitana sensed the love her daughter felt for her. The last two years with James had been the best years of her life. For the first time, Kitana had known what it meant to love and to be loved. Nothing could take that away from her — not even death.

I’ll be right behind you, I promise!
she lied to her daughter. Kitana had to keep Marla from falling into Obron’s hands, at any price. Her father would turn her into an ice-cold shell of a creature, a puppet subject to his will.

With the last of her strength, Kitana drew a circle on the wall just big enough for a small child, muttering a spell to ensure that no one could enlarge the hole — keeping the demons from reaching James and Silvan. The portal opened, giving off sparks and the smell of ozone. Kitana looked through the hole into the room she had just left. Although she couldn’t see them, she sensed that James and Silvan were still standing there in front of the fire. She could feel James’ longing for her to return …

Marla hated these dreams. Soon she would witness her mother’s death, so every time the dream reached this point, she tried to wake herself up. But today was different. She heard a voice whispering to her, “Don’t be afraid, I’m right here. It’s just a dream …”

Mike — it was Mike’s voice! He must have realized that she was having a nightmare. Marla was still caught up in the dream scene. She could see the image frozen in time; at the same time, she felt the warmth of Mike’s body and his hand stroking her hair. Mike was there with her, his body pressed to hers.

Suddenly, she was no longer afraid. For the first time, she was ready to face the events that followed. Maybe she would finally find peace. Something was pulling at her, so she allowed herself to slip back into the dream …

Go through the portal!
Kitana ordered her, pushing Marla toward the narrow hole, but it was already too late. Two grey figures had hurled ice-blue energy spheres in her daughter’s path, making her turn back in fear.

“You’re so predictable.” Obron grinned devilishly at her and pressed his foot against her shoulder so that Kitana rolled onto her back. She didn’t even have the strength to stand up.

“Should we kill the child?” the demon Kitana knew to be Metistakles asked. His fingers dug into Marla’s hair.

“No!” Obron raised a hand. “Perhaps we still need her. She can tell us where the boy is.”

Kitana was deathly afraid but was too exhausted to move. “Promise me you won’t kill Marla,” she whispered.

Obron crouched down and took her head in his hands. His mind penetrated hers like a knife cutting into her brain.

Promise me, Obron. Let your daughter live.

She needed his promise, and fast. Kitana had no protection without the amulet. Obron would soon discover the truth about her.

Please, Obron
, she begged, once more siphoning energy from him. It flowed into her body through his fingers.

His eyes widened.
Damn it, where are you?
Obron was trying to infiltrate deeper into her mind; the pain was almost unbearable. Before, the amulet had always kept the other demons from finding out her secret.

I’m just like you
, she thought.
Give me your word! No harm will come to Marla.

Obron let out a growl.
Yes, yes, I promise, now be still so I can
…

His promise, she had it! Now Kitana laid a charm on Obron so that he could never break his oath. As she inwardly spoke the ancient words of the spell, she knew that Obron had discovered who she was.

Watcher blood flows through your veins!
Obron didn’t say this out loud — he didn’t want the others to know.
My wife isn’t a pure-blood demon?

Kitana shut her eyes.
It’s true, my great-grandmother was a watcher.

Anastissa?
Obron delved deeper.
Then she must be the one who made the Scepter of Power!

Yes, Obron.

Now he had yet another reason not to kill Marla. In her mind, Kitana heard him laughing.
That’s why the Oracle told me that a marriage to you would be a powerful union, and our children something very special! Marla should be able to access the full power of the artifact
—
her blood is connected to the scepter! Did you know that’s the only reason I wanted you as a wife, Priestess?
Again, the evil laugh.
You were beautiful; that made it easier for me. I always knew that you were weak and somehow different. But the last hundred years by your side were worth the trouble. What a valuable gift you’ve given me!

You’re wrong
, she sent back to him.
The Oracle told me that a boy would seal the fate of the scepter
—
the same boy who carries an even stronger force within him. Silvan! That’s why he was chosen to be the next Overlord.
Thanks to his demonic genes and the watcher traits from James, her son would be able to use the full power of the scepter, an idea that frightened Kitana. If Silvan ever held the scepter in his hands … Kitana didn’t want to imagine what he might be capable of. Silvan’s demonic side must never prevail!

Obron read her thoughts and stifled a curse. But then he smiled.
I’ll find your boy, count on it, and then I’ll turn him into my minion!

Kitana knew that he only wanted to cause her pain, but his words left her cold. The only thing that really frightened her was the knowledge that he had Marla, and that James and Silvan were no longer under her protection.

You know where the scepter is
, he thought.
I can almost see it …

I’ll make sure that you never find it, Obron!
With her last ounce of strength and an iron will, Kitana enveloped her entire body in electricity. Her skin lit up and sparked as flashes of blue lightning swept over her.

Obron hastily stepped back. “Damn it, what happened?”

Rather than releasing the energy, Kitana directed it within her. She screamed as the fire ate through her skin, nerves, and muscles, mustering only the strength to send her daughter one last message before her own energy burned her up from the inside:
Be strong, my child. I’ll always be with you, I promise …