12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

E laine stumbled first from Sabra's hand and into the courtyard of the vampire mansion. Aya was already striding ahead of her by the time she straightened up. No trace of the lover who fucked the words right out of her and left her aching, still humming with the afterglow as the world assailed them with the next problem.

Alexios blurred past her next, falling in beside Aya as the front doors swung open. Attendants rushed to meet them, speaking to Alexios in low, panicked voices.

She still wasn't sure what was going on. One minute she was on a delirious high; the next, Aya was on her knees, screaming in pain. Before she knew it, Aya was hauling on her clothes and stumbling downstairs. She tried to ask Aya what the hell was happening, but it was as though Aya was already pulling away, her mind locked on something else. Some greater darkness demanded her complete and utter focus.

All she'd gotten from Alexios before they left the house was an attack on the vampires—and it was bad. A disease, he'd said, pale as death. Tobias went white.

Little was said after.

Sabra fell in step beside her, keeping close as they were led through the mansion. It was just as dizzying as their last visit; a seemingly never-ending labyrinth of twisting halls and endless rooms with vibrant furniture, portraits, and statues. Everything dripped with wealth, and, at a glance, one might've not even realized there was someone new in charge.

Alexios led them to the ballroom. The doors were flung open, and the stench of death and disease slammed into her. Every rancid breath curled her stomach into knots. Her heart leapt in her chest as she braced herself for what was to come. Flashes of a brief stay in a distant city, forced to confront the horrors of disease that swept through the poor district like wildfire, burst like thunder in her mind.

A hand closed over hers. Sabra.

"Are you okay?"

She forced a nod. She had to be. Not just for her sake or even Aya but for those within. If she could do anything at all. Sometimes, diseases couldn't be stopped, even with Dianera's healing touch.

Inside, dozens of rows of makeshift beds stretched out across the room. Every single one filled with a body; plenty human, some vampires, and others she didn't immediately recognize.

She paled. Disease typically affected only a singular race. She'd never seen anything affect multiple species before, especially ones like vampires with their advanced healing. The hope she might be able to do any good was fading with every step into the ballroom.

Healers made their way through the rows, tending to the dying, offering what little comfort might be given. In another life, Elaine wondered if she'd be any good as a healer. She had the magic, but she lacked the finesse, the way to navigate the body and rid it of its ailments.

However, maybe it was time…

She was moving before she realized it, reaching for one of the healers. The second she touched the upper arm of the healer, the woman jumped up to her feet with a startled cry.

"Fucking hell!"

"Sorry, I came to see if I could—"

"You're her, the witch with Aya," said the healer. "Finally, someone who can help. We're doing the best we can, but we're just used to patching up vampires. None of us have any idea what's going on."

Elaine glanced down at the shivering male on the makeshift bed. "You've never seen anything like this?"

"I've already had some of my girls pour over every text we have but these symptoms aren't making sense. Then there is the fact it is affecting humans and vampires. Hell, we have a couple of wolves over there. Hope they don't die. Don't fancy explaining that to their bastard of an Alpha."

She didn't envy the healer either. She didn't imagine Ryker handling the mysterious deaths of his own people with any kind of grace. Not when tensions were already running so damn high.

Elaine closed her eyes and reached out, placing one hand on the man's brow. His skin burned hot. If she didn't get his temperature down soon, then the fever assailing his body would claim him in hours—if not sooner.

She turned her focus inwards, summoning Dianera's power. Warmth flowed up from her soul, spreading out through her limbs. In her mind's eye, a darkness wrapped around the body, one she'd never seen before. It was so thick, she nearly couldn't see him. She pushed against the shadows.

A fiery pain slammed into her, ripping a cry from her lips.

Elaine ripped her hand back with a gasp when a hand suddenly clamped around her wrist. Her gaze snapped up. The man was staring at her, but his eyes were glowing red, all the white and any trace of humanity gone. Something else was staring back through him.

A presence pushed into her mind, ancient power eddying around her until the room fell away, and she was alone with the man.

Child of ours, witch of our choice, stand down. This is our will.

"W-what? What do you—"

The pressure snapped off her mind in a blink. The roaring cacophony tumbled away, and she was back in the ballroom. The healer was on one side, Aya at her other, speaking to her. But the words were muffled, as if shouted over a vast sea. She stared at the man whose eyes turned vacant, the life absent.

She didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the body. At some point, the healer left. Sabra, Tobias, and Alexios were across the room. It was Aya who remained with her, one hand drawing small circles, whispering gentle promises of tea and massages.

"The gods did this," she whispered.

Aya's breath hitched. "What do you mean?"

Elaine choked back a bitter laugh. "It would seem the other gods are taking advantage of the weak barrier."

Dark eyes pulled away from her, roaming over the dying souls. Quiet fury sparked across her face, enough to send chills rippling across her shoulders. This was what Tarla feared, what kept most of Purgatory at bay. Aya's wrath.

Elaine reached for Aya. "Whatever you're thinking, speak to me."

"I'm not sure you'd want to hear it."

Whatever was churning away in her mind, it was pushing her further away from Elaine. She leaned in close, guiding Aya's face, forcing their eyes to meet. All thoughts of the room tumbled away as if the world shrank to just the pair of them. Elaine leaned in, pressing their foreheads together. Breaths entangled, warmth flowing freely.

"Nothing you say can scare me."

"Even if I said I really want to murder all of the gods?"

Had anyone else said it, she might've laughed. Who threatened deities with a steady voice, as if she didn't care about the danger, as if she really could murder them all? She stared into those endless pools, her hand remaining on Aya's cheek, and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, the gods were in danger.

"That would be terribly risky," she murmured.

The corner of Aya's mouth curled into a smile but it didn't quite touch her eyes. "Never said it was a good idea and besides, I'm not exactly strong enough."

Yet.

Elaine pulled back, sitting on her haunches. "Maybe just give me a little warning before you go doing that."

Aya's brows shot up. "You'd come with me?"

"Well, I'd hardly let you do it alone. I don't think Sabra and Tobias—hell, even Alexios—would let you go solo. We're family, murder plans and all." Elaine pushed up to her feet. "We should go inform the others about what I saw."

"They're not going to like this."

A little relief bled into her chest. At least her humor wasn't completely gone. Elaine smiled in reply, though the shadows of Aya's proclamation lingering. Whispering, planting itself deep in her mind.

"So, our situation has become shittier—what's new?"

Aya slanted her an arched look. "And to think I was worried about you fitting in when you first joined us."

Elaine didn't try to heal anymore, much to the healer's frustrations, but they understood once she had a quiet word. Alexios paced at the edge of the room, glaring at the ground. Every so often, Tobias tried to talk to him, but it was ignored every time. He hadn't left to inform the council. Perhaps the shattering news that the gods were trying to take advantage of the weakening barrier to kill everyone wasn't the news he wanted to give.

A few healthy locals arrived, relatives of those sick. The healers weren't entirely worried it was infectious, and if it was, any chance of trying to contain it was likely useless. Everyone in the room had been taken from various areas of the Inner District.

To her surprise, Aya and Sabra opted to help the healers. They tended to the sick, offering water, trying different tonics. Every so often, Aya met her gaze across the room, shaking her head. This was a losing battle.

She rose from the bed she was at, eyeing the room wearily. Not being able to use her magic to heal the people left her worse than the healers. She only had the simplest of healing talents outside of magic; some stitching, tonics she knew were great against fevers, how to make yourself throw up if you swallowed something poisonous.

She scowled at her tattoos, thinking of the gods. She didn't know if they could hear her. Their reach on her seemed to come and go, inconsistent at the best of times.

Fuck you, she thought.

"Healer!" a woman screeched from far across the room. "Help!"

Elaine's head jerked up. A woman was standing by the bed of a small child, clutching at the tiny, pale hand. She broke into a jog, dodging around the beds. As she neared, the woman dropped down to the child once again.

"She's getting worse! You must save her— please. "

The healer knelt by the child but rose a second later, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. She has already—"

The woman's face crumpled. "No, no, you're wrong. She's—" She cut herself off, looking up sharply to Aya.

Elaine's gut dropped.

Color drained from Aya.

Before the woman even said the words, dread bloomed in Aya's eyes.

"You're a necromancer— bring her back ." The woman rose shakily to her feet, grabbing hold of Aya. "Please."

Aya flinched. She didn't look away, however. Perhaps she couldn't. There was a tempest raging in her eyes, a war within. Then, something broke. Aya nodded. One sharp jerk of her chin, and hope sparked across the woman's face. A belief so strong in Aya, Elaine pitied the woman, sensing a terrible darkness simmering in the air.

The room darkened in a flash. Witch lights sputtered out, drenching the room in shadows. They stretched toward Aya, answering the call of their mistress, drawn like a moth to a flame. Aya raised her hand over the child. The air plunged into an icy chill. Clouds of breath swirled around Elaine's lips. Her heart pounded as the seconds crawled by, each one in agonizing silence.

No one dared to say a damn word.

Not even the mother who stared at Aya, her whole world resting on this one act. Clinging so desperately to hope, she made no move, no sound. It was though she had become a statue, hinging her existence on a miracle.

"Come on, " Aya snarled. "I command you!"

"What's wr—" Elaine cut off as Aya surged to her feet, wings exploding wide.

" Dammit!"

Everyone jumped back.

A tense, poignant silence rippled across the room. All eyes fell upon Aya, shaking, shadows still twisting around her—restless, vicious ribbons that hissed like snakes. Elaine knew even before Aya moved, before she even uttered a single world, what had happened.

And so, too, did the mother.

The mother flinched away, looking with wild eyes to her daughter. "No, no, no!"

A broken, wounded sound tore from the woman's lips. It cleaved the terrible silence like a blade, lashing against them all. Tearing at their souls, their very minds. Tears blurred Elaine's world, until all she heard was those terrible sobs, and threaded so quietly beneath she nearly missed it, Aya's voice. Softer than she'd heard it, full of grief so raw it split Elaine apart.

"Your daughter is gone. I'm sorry."

Elaine wiped her eyes, hoping to seek Aya. Reach for her. Tell her this wasn't her fault. She hadn't killed the girl, couldn't be blamed for not being able to bring her back. That she wasn't a goddess.

Nothing of this was possible, however.

Aya had already fled the room.

It took Elaine the better part of an hour to find Aya, lurking in the shadows of the graveyard. A resting place for several vampires, but mostly for the lovers, wives, old friends of the immortals. So perhaps it was fitting Aya sought comfort in an old friend.

Elaine lingered at the threshold, watching Aya simply gaze upon Calix's grave. She didn't know much of Aya's history with the vampire, but she suspected Aya downplayed how deeply she liked the male.

"You can stop lurking there," Aya murmured; she released a deep, weary breath and spoke again. "Might as well join me."

Wordlessly, she wondered over, standing beside her.

"You know I always thought he was the kind to have a big fancy stone. This doesn't seem, I don't know, like him."

"Maybe it is though."

"Oh?"

"I mean, he always cared about his people. Perhaps in death he was content to simply be among them. There's no need for a show in death."

Aya fell silent and resumed her vigil over the grave. Elaine's mouth filled with ash, her tongue a knot she couldn't unravel. The darkness crowded around Aya, as though she were surrendering to it. Falling further away, lost to the voices no doubt whispering cruel things to her.

The wind howled mournful, Purgatory offering its own sound to the death sweeping through it. She wondered if the goddess of life sensed all the lives fading away, if she was even conscious. She hoped not. Thinking of someone trapped for so many years, alone and forced to watch the outside world change around her. Never a part of it, helpless and doomed, kept from the one she loved. And for what? What had the goddess done that was truly so awful?

Why were they all paying for said crime now?

"I wasn't lying before," said Aya.

"About?"

"Killing the gods. I would, if had the power."

"I think you're stronger than you think."

A bitter laugh broke from Aya's lips. "I saw her soul. Reached for it but…she slipped through my fingers. I tried to call for her, but she didn't seem to understand. The darkness was scaring her away and I didn't know how to comfort her."

"Could your family teach you?"

Aya nodded, saying nothing. The truth settled between them, a sun emerging from the clouds of a winter storm. Piercing, bright and undeniable. Elaine's heart squeezed.

"They won't reject you, Aya," she said gently.

"How do you know?" Naked fear whispered from her voice. "When I saw them a few weeks ago, it was different. Everything happened so quickly. They didn't have time to see me properly, to…to know what I am."

Elaine reached out wordlessly, threading their fingers together. "What you are is someone brave and fierce, loving and defending her family. Who will always do whatever must be done for the sake of those she loves."

"It's not that simple, Elaine. Even if by some miracle they overlook the blood staining my soul, what do I tell them about you?"

Oh.

Elaine cleared her throat. "Well, the truth would be best. No sense lying about it. They will have to learn to accept all parts of your life. Hell, they might not be thrilled about you being bonded to a demon either." She stepped around to face Aya, cupping the side of her face until those dark eyes opened, finding hers. "My point is no matter what happens, we're all here for you. Till the very end and beyond."

Aya kissed her.

Hard and fast, pulling away until only a little space parted their lips. Their foreheads pressed against each other.

"I don't think we can do much here. How do you think this new Grand Matron would feel if we appeared at her temple?"