22. Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-two

S o, this was death. Amelia was floating in a black void and decided she was okay with it. There was no pain here, and no one had promised her that on the other side. She moved like a mermaid, undulating around the large area, trying to take in anything she could see other than the dark expanse in front of her. Amelia was pretty sure that brief flashes of light were doors. Where did they lead? She didn't know but planned to hang out here. There was no desire, need, or want in this place. She didn't feel judged for her bad life choices. She simply was, and it was a glorious feeling.

Closing her eyes, she slept. When they opened again, she realized she wasn't hungry or thirsty. This place was the best. She swam around until her eyes closed again. When they opened, she wondered how long she'd been here. It felt like days and years at the same time. Should she leave? Hell. She was staying right here where judgment couldn't find her.

"It is nice here, isn't it?" The voice came from everywhere, both inside and outside of her. It just was, and it felt as natural as she was talking to herself. Except she knew this wasn't her voice.

"Who are you?" The voice ignored her and asked her a different question.

"Have you ever thought about the ones who died and came back with stories about the afterlife? It's fun to ponder if they saw something or if their brain filled in something that wasn't there. Could it have been so bad they couldn't articulate the hell into which they were thrown?

Don't you think it's an interesting thought?"

"I don't know. Are you here to tell me it's time to leave that my ultimate fate awaits me?"

"Maybe. What about your mate? Have you thought of him while you're swimming around pretending to be a mermaid?"

That was a kick in the gut. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of him, but rather that she spent her waking hours deliberately shying away from thoughts of Zylar. Now that the voice had mentioned him, all she could do was yearn to see him.

"You could walk through that door. It's up to you. I don't want to be accused of influencing your decision".

"You're influencing my decision."

"I said I didn't want to be accused of it, not that I wouldn't do it."

Amelia laughed . How long had she gone without feeling joy? What seemed like a reprieve now looked like a prison sentence. This place kept her from striving, reaching, or overcoming.

The voice disappeared. Amelia would describe it if asked as the absence of joy. She was back in a place where nothing mattered, but this time thoughts of Zylar kept her from sinking back to where she was. She should have asked the voice about Stacey, but Stacey's journey was her own. Amelia had to deal with her own journey.

She started swimming in the undulating motion she cultivated here. There were times she slept, her body refusing to go any further. She would wake and find inertia had taken her a little closer to the door, where light seeped out around the edges like a beacon calling her name. It felt like years, eons before she finally reached the door. Knowing the real question to the story had arrived. Did she have what it took to look her life in the eyes and take the bull by the horns? Or did she want to shy away from it forever as she'd shied away from all the problems in her life?

Her hand hesitated at the door. Oh, look at that! She could use her hands and her arms without pain. When had that happened? Or was that always the case in this place?

Zylar was never in this place and would never be. That was the kicker. She wanted a life with him and would trade all the peace in the world to be held in his strong, muscular arms.

She reached for the door and threw it wide open. The light bombarded her, shoving the darkness away as she tumbled from one plane of existence to another. The door behind her slammed shut, but she barely heard it because Zylar was waiting for her.

She rushed into his arms, needing to know he was real and all hers. He held her tight to the point that she struggled to breathe. Yet she didn't try to get him to let up. She needed this as much as he did.

"They told me to move on," he whispered in her ear. That you might be ahead of me or that you'd catch up later. I didn't know where you were, but I knew you wouldn't leave me. I waited for you."

Every emotion she couldn't experience in the black void came over her and she cried. The tears were for herself, Zylar, and even Stacey, who got taken in by a snake oil salesman.

"Don't cry, no tears allowed." She smiled through her tears.

"I didn't know how much I missed you until I knew."

"There's a paradox for the ages." Amelia laughed; he was right. Maybe they'd keep that one to themselves.

"Where are we?" Amelia wanted to look around, but she was held tightly against Zylar's chest.

Zylar moved back a fraction of an inch. Just enough room for him to lean down and take her mouth in a smoldering kiss. Amelia's arms went around his neck as she moaned, returning his kiss with fire.

Trembles of need went through her, waking her up. The deadness and bleakness that plagued her in the other place were gone. Her nipples were hard, and her pussy was dripping with desire.

Zylar nibbled at her lips before diving again and eating her up. His tongue dominated her, making her shiver with need. How had she stayed away from him for so long? When he moved back, she held on for several minutes, not wanting to lose him or the closeness they were re-establishing.

"I'm not going anywhere, my little dove." Amelia's heart soared as his latest nickname for her came out. "We have decisions to make."

They were dead. She wanted to whine. Couldn't they stow all their decisions for a couple hundred years? Instead, she nodded her head and waited.

"It feels like a game of Russian Roulette. We must pick one door. Our fate will be revealed when we open the door."

Who the hell taught him about Russian Roulette? The thought of someone putting a gun with one bullet in it to his head and pulling the trigger made her want to kill in earnest.

How she felt about him was becoming more obvious as each day went on. Did it matter now that they were dead?

"You should pick the door." When she first walked into the light, it was so bright that she thought the only thing here was Zylar. Now she could see three doors, and each of them called out to her. She didn't want to pick the wrong one and land them in hell. That would suck after all she'd gone through.

Amelia caught the faint sound of high-pitched feminine laughter. Shaking her head, she joined in. Privacy was an illusion down here.

"Sorry, turtle dove, you have to pick the door."

"Why?" Amelia was whining and if the pitch of her voice meant anything, she wasn't happy. She looked around again slowly, staring at each door. They throbbed in tune to some unknown bass line.

Each door resonated at a separate frequency. Because they were so close together and were in sync with each other, she couldn't hear the separate doors. They assaulted her ears as one.

Amelia took an unintentional step back, reaching for and finding Zylar's hand. She needed to be grounded, and no one did it like her mate.

"I almost lost you, didn't I?" It was becoming more apparent as she stood in the overwhelming light with him. She had been in a black abyss and it felt like a place of serenity, but it wasn't. It was a place of separation. If the voice belonged to the goddess, because what else could she have been? Was she the Diza goddess or the Mary mother of Jesus she always heard about? It didn't matter who she represented; this goddess had Amelia on her mind. Without her, the love affair that was burning brightly between her and Zylar could have died a forever death.

"Wrong. For that to happen, I would have had to walk away. If it took staying here for all eternity for you to emerge, I would have been here. I'd be the first person you saw when you came out. I will always be here waiting for you."

She believed him. The truth in his voice rang loud and clear. No matter what, he would walk the path with her. If they stayed here, what could hurt them? What could hurt Zylar? If they went back, there were too many unknowns to calculate. But the showdown was coming, and any smart female would avoid that at all costs. Was she smart enough to stay away from it? What would happen on Earth if she neglected to do her duty? Was the earth more important to her than Zylar's health and welfare? If asked several days or weeks ago the answer would have been no. Now it was yes. To her Zylar was the Earth. If he wasn't with her then the dirt would no longer produce the food needed to keep them alive. The sun would stop shining and her life wouldn't be worth the summary of her parts.

"What if something happens to you?" Her bottom lips were quivering, and her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. She wanted to dive into his arms again and damn the consequences.

"Look at me." He tilted her face up so her eyes could meet his. "Something has already happened to me. I'm here with you. There's no other place on Earth or the stars I'd rather be, and that includes being alive."

She jumped on him, and Zylar caught her. Amelia wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and kissed him until his knees went weak. That's what she was talking about. She could feel his cock grow and then rub against her pussy. She may as well not be the only one who wanted more than she could get in this in-between place.

"We could end up in hell." Her biggest fear was once again in front of her.

"Then we'll do the time together." She nodded and loosened her arms around his neck. It was a sign for him to put her down, which he did.

Amelia lifted a hand, telling him to stay there. He was. His presence next to her was going to be a distraction. One she'd prefer. Do Zylar or pick a door? Ding, ding, ding Zylar wins.

Amelia went to the first door, concentrating. When she heard nothing, she placed her ear against the door and put her hand on it feeling the heat that seeped through. Not knowing what else to do she did the same for the next two doors.

This was her future. When she realized she was still undecided, she went to her knees to try to peek under the doors, nothing. None of the doors was giving away what was behind them.

She looked at Zylar, but he was looking at her. The look of love in his eyes made her heart flood. All she wanted to do was spend eternity with him dead or alive. Had anyone ever wanted their mate as much as she wanted hers? A laugh escaped. She knew her cousins would scream yes, but she couldn't see it.

She closed her eyes, finding the center of her being, her soul. There was no way to choose without it. It was the guiding light within her that brought her this far, and she believed it would take her home.

Inside of her was a thin, golden, thick coil that left her soul. It tied her soul to Zylar's. Forever and a day, the two of them would be connected.

The fear of losing the male she loved was gone. No one was going to sever that connection. She'd protect it with her life.

She heard and felt it. One door called to her sweetly over the other two doors. Relying on her instincts, she reached for Zylar's hand. When they joined hands together as one, she opened the door. Let whatever would happen, happen.