The geneva project comp.., p.144
The Geneva Project- Complete Series Boxset, page 144
Malakai joined us in the circle of red moonlight. He stood between me and Kai, a look of utter satisfaction on his face. Malakai grabbed our hands and tied them together with a biting black cord. “With the power vested in me as supreme ruler, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Applause burst from the crowd, startling me. I’d almost forgotten we had a massive audience of blood thirsty Ravinori. A gleam of light caught my eye, bringing my attention back to Kobel, who now held the relic blade in his hand. My heart thundered as he brought it toward me.
He was going to use it to complete the ritual!
Now that our souls had been joined, Kobel would add our wedded blood to the cup. The ritual stated that whomever drank the blood of the united souls under the Blood Moon would control them. That was undoubtedly Malakai’s ultimate goal. He would drink our blood and force Kai to locate Ravin and then use me to bring him across the Bridge of the Gods.
But if Kobel used the relic to bleed us we would die. The black bladed dagger he clutched was the weapon rumored to have started the Immortal War. It boasted a hilt carved of bone, fused with a blade of dragon stone. A wound from it would be fatal. Kobel had to know that. But he didn’t care. He was willing to let us die.
He must be planning something else.
He could add our blood to his Lapiz Sanguine and he would have our powers.
He didn’t need us alive.
I struggled against Malakai’s grip trying to wrench my hand away. But it was no use. Malakai was strong and Kobel swift. The blood left my hand before I even felt the blade. I watched in slow motion as he did the same to Kai, draining our blood into the challis.
Malakai reached greedily for the cup, but Kobel hesitated. For a split second I saw a cunning wave of hate light up his black eyes. Then in one fluid move, Kobel tilted his head back, draining the cup completely. Kobel roared with laughter, wiping the blood from his lips.
I was stunned. And so was Malakai from the look of pure shock painted on his face.
Malakai was seething mad. “Kobel, What have you done?”
“What I’ve been waiting to do for centuries. And the liberation is glorious,” he snarled.
I watched wide-eyed as the skin of Kobel’s face began to darken and shrivel. I squeezed Kai’s hand and pulled him protectively away from the molting monster before us. Kai’s face held a look of shock and bewilderment, as if he’d just awoken from a dream and realized he was living a nightmare.
“Kai?” I whispered, hope creeping into my voice.
“Geneva, what’s going on?” he asked looking back at our bound and bloodied hands.
Thank the gods!
I didn’t know if my blood was fighting the poison in his veins or if the dragon stonehad broken Kobel’s spell. But whatever it was I was grateful to have Kai back. There wasn’t a moment to spare.
“Kai there’s not time to explain. I need my powers back. Disable the cuffs.”
I held my breath as Kai moved his hand slightly up my wrist to where the heavy cuffs bit into me. My powers prickled as Kai deactivated the cuff.
I took a deep breath knowing we’d completed the first step of our plan. I had my powers back. I smiled at Kai. Maybe we wouldn’t make it out of here alive, but if that was my fate, I intended to make sure it was Malakai’s and Kobel’s as well.
The Ravinori weren’t going to know what hit them.
My long game had paid off. I was about to take the king—Check.
• • •
I turned my attention back to the feuding Ravinori leader and the deteriorating monster that used to be Kobel. His skin was morphing, shimmering back and forth between the face I knew as Kobel and an ancient stranger.
“The years I spent listening to your relentless sniveling over your son and your foolish plans. It was a sentence I didn’t think I could endure, but I was out of options. I’d run out of hosts and you possessed the relic—the last part I needed to be whole again and complete my final transformation.”
“I don’t understand?” Malakai stammered in utter confusion.
Kobel laughed. “Only someone as blinded by their own vanity as you wouldn’t have noticed it was I who was directing your every move this entire time.”
“You’ve lost your mind, old man! We have what we need to bring Ravin back, but I need to be the one to drink from the cup. I’m the only one who can control Kai. I’m his father!”
“I don’t need his power or the Eva’s. With their blood, I’m more powerful than both of them combined.”
“That’s not possible. She’s the Eva. The prophecy told of no other living being more powerful than she.”
“Precisely,” Kobel growled, letting his robe fall around him. Beneath it his blackened skin had turned to ash. It disintegrated in the howling wind Kobel commanded. There was nothing left of him, but a withered skeletal frame. His bent spine was twisted and most of his shinbone was missing. The wind swirled around him as he reclaimed his true form.
My blood ran cold. I’d seen him before. In the tapestry hanging at the Troian Academy. The one Terran pointed out of a man so wicked he carved a knife out of his own bone to start a war. The man who created the realms and hijacked my destiny stood before me—the Elder.
All at once I knew his plan. He’d come to call up his final host. The ultimate specimen of evil—Ravin.
Relief washed over me momentarily as I realized Ravin wouldn’t be taking over Kai. Ravin would host the Elder. He now possessed the blood stone and planned to take over Ravin’s body, giving the Elder sole command of enough magic to rule the world with darkness for eternity. All he needed was the hilt of the relic knife. It was his missing piece and he had to be whole to transfer to a new host. But there was no way I was going to let that happen. I just needed a diversion so I could grab the blade. I started slowly untying the black cord that was binding my wrist to Kai’s while Malakai argued with the Elder.
Malakai seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his plan had failed and he was now as expendable as we were. “You ancient fool. There’s still time for me to right this. I just need to drink from the cup.”
“There’s nothing left,” the Elder said with a cruel smirk, calling the empty cup to his skeletal hand. He tipped it upside down and a single drop of blood fell from it. “I drank the blood of the united souls. I can recall Ravin myself.”
“Pity you won’t get to meet him.” I called.
Kobel turned to face me, a smug grin splitting his wicked face. “I’m afraid you’re the one who won’t be around much longer. The blade I cut you with was the relic. But from the look on your face, I’d say you already figured that out.”
“Yes,” I replied. “You’re right. As much as I was hoping to have a reunion with the man who murdered my aunt and ruined my life, I’m content to die knowing you won’t be bringing Ravin back.”
The Elder cocked his skull to the side as I tore the thin lace sleeve from my dress. He curiously watched my fingers twist until a tiny silver ring appeared, trailing a bright silver line up my arm to my heart. The line glowed, telling me Nova was near.
Finally.
I couldn’t see him, but with my powers back I knew Nova was here. I could sense him and the Pillars. All the pieces were in place. I couldn’t suppress my smile—Checkmate.
Utter confusion painted Malakai’s face, while the Elder’s face hardened.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe my soul can be united if it’s already bound to another. You failed to ask me if I was already married and it just so happens I am. It seems you don’t hold my power after all.”
“What?” Kai gasped, stunned. “You’re already married?” The betrayal in his eyes was heartbreaking, but there was no time to explain.
I dispatched a blinding light giving the signal to attack. I heard the battlecry as Betos and rebels poured in from every angle of the cave. But loudest of all was the Elder’s scream. He was furious that I’d outsmarted him and revenge flashed in his eyes as he weilded the relic blade, aiming for my heart. I didn’t have time to react. But Kai did. He dove in front of me before I realized what was happening. It wasn’t until I saw the pain in his eyes that I knew what had occurred. I never saw the Elder throw the relic, but I felt it—lodged deep in Kai’s back.
“Kai!” I screamed as he collapsed on top of me. “No! No! Kai, hold on.” I encased us in a protective fissure just as the Elder lunged.
His laughter penetrated the bubble. “Maybe you’re not as clever as I thought. I may not control your soul, but I control his.” The Elder closed his skeletal fist and Kai screamed in pain. His face turned blue as he clutched the imaginary hands at his throat.
“Stop! You’re killing him!” I screamed.
“Give me the relic,” the Elder thundered.
“Don’t . . . do . . . it,” Kai gasped.
“Kai,” I murmured, frantically searching for a way to stop his torture. I couldn’t fight back and hold up the fissure. I was barely able to hold it against the Elder as it was. His power was greater than anything I’d ever faced before. He was blasting black arrows that seemed to be called forth from nothing more than shadows. The black mist tore holes in my fissure like it was made of silk. As fast as my power stitched the fissure together, the blackness tore it open again. I would only be able to hold the Elder off moments longer. At least if I agreed to give him the blade I could bargain for Kai’s life. None of this was his fault.
I shook my head at Kai. “I can’t hold him.”
Kai stared at me. He could tell I was going to cave. “Geneva, don’t you dare,” he choked out.
“He’s choking you to death.”
“Then don’t let it be for nothing,” Kai whispered hoarsely.
Blood vessels hemorrhaged in his eyes, staining them red. He was on the verge of passing out. I grabbed his hands but they suddenly slackened.
“No,” I whispered laying my head on his chest desperately listening for a heartbeat. It was there but just barely.
“So heartless,” the Elder boomed. “Perhaps I underestimated you.” With a sickening grin, he raised his arms and Kai’s eyes opened. He sat bolt upright like a possessed marionette. Before I had a chance to react, Kai’s hands were around my own throat.
“Kai!” I shouted.
“Kill her,” the Elder commanded. “She doesn’t love you. She’s done nothing but use you just like your father. She betrayed you by marrying another. Kill her and give me the relic. I can save you. You will have everything you desire if you serve me.”
“Kai . . . don’t listen to him,” I gasped. “You’re stronger . . . than this. You . . . don’t . . . want . . . to . . . kill me.”
I could see the confliction in Kai’s eyes. A battle was raging within him as he tried to fight the power the Elder used to control him. It seemed my voice was helping. I could see recognition when I spoke. I clawed at his hands as they gripped my throat and forced out a raspy voice. “Kai, I know you’re in there. Fight him. Do not let him win. Kai, you would never hurt me. I trust you. Trust yourself. You can do this. Kai, look into your heart. Trust your heart. You know I’m nothing like your father.” I could see his resolve crumbling. “Look at my face. You once told me you saw yourself in my eyes and that my freckles reminded you of the night sky.”
Kai’s face twisted as he tried to fight against the Elder’s will, but he was losing ground. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t hold on much longer.
“Kai, please?” I begged. In a last ditch effort I kissed him.
Shock rippled across his face and suddenly, his vice grip loosened as he broke free of the Elder’s control. “I love you,” he whispered as he stared down at my splotchy face.
Kai finally seemed to realize his hands were still around my throat. Startled he released me, instantly apologizing. “Geneva! My gods. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He helped me up and I breathed a sigh of relief as I caught my breath. Over Kai’s shoulder I saw the Elder’s rage explode, distorting his terrifying features. My fissure dissolved the moment Kai started choking the life out of me. I hadn’t recovered enough to cast a new one. We were exposed! The Elder lunged.
Just when I thought all was lost, a huge wall of fire erupted in his path, engulfing the Elder.
Nova!
He gave me the time I needed to cast a new fissure. When the smoke cleared, Nova, Mali and Jaka battled the Elder. He quickly saw he was outnumbered and morphed himself to higher ground.
Coward!
Nova paused for a moment before giving chase. “You all right?” he asked through the fissure.
I nodded.
“I love you,” he whispered.
I mouthed the words back, letting our hands meet scarcely for a moment with the pulsing power of my fissure between us. Then Nova was gone, charring Ravinori in his path as he charged after the Elder.
Chapter 101
“So you’re married?” Kai asked, pain thick in his voice.
I gazed back at him. He’d collapsed onto his side. His expression was so wounded I had to look away. I focused on the blood staining his jacket instead. It was sticky and black and there was too much of it. “Kai, I have to get the knife out,” I said ignoring his question.
He just continued to stare at me in disbelief. I was waiting for him to say, don’t bother, the knife in my back is nothing compared to your betrayal. But he didn’t. He just kept staring at me with those dark, midnight eyes.
“You’re really married?” he asked again.
“Kai, I couldn’t tell you . . . I’m sorry.”
“Are you happy?”
I stopped examining his wound. His question caught me off guard. I sat back on my heels and looked at him. I couldn’t lie. “Yes.”
“Good,” he said with a genuine smile warming his face.
“Good?” I questioned. That was the last thing I expected to hear.
“Yes. Good. Now I can die knowing I didn’t ruin your life.”
“Kai, you’re not going to die and you didn’t ruin my life.”
Kai frowned and reached up to touch my face. “Geneva, everything I’ve done these past few months has been to right the wrong I caused you. When I declared my love for you I damned you to this fate,” he whispered. “All I wanted was to make it right, so you could be happy.”
Kai coughed blood and my heart twisted with guilt.
I pushed my feelings back. “Kai, stop talking. You have to hold on for me. I need to get the blade out of your back.”
“Leave it. I barely feel it.”
“I can’t. It’s the relic.”
“Then you know the wound is fatal. I’m already dying.”
“No. Kai, I have to get it out. I’ll find a way to help you. But first we have to finish this fight and I can’t do it without you.”
Kai nodded grimly and I gave him my hand to squeeze while I wrenched the blade free. It came loose with a sickening pop as the suction of steel and flesh broke. Kai cried out in pain. I tore loose the ridiculous train of my gown, ripping ribbons of satin to pack Kai’s wound. I tied a tourniquet and wiped the traces of blood from his lips. I used my healing powers, but the wound wouldn’t close. I cauterized it the best I could. I’d slowed Kai’s blood loss for now, but he looked pale.
“Kai, I need you to know you didn’t ruin my life. I’m equally responsible for being here at this very moment. And I truly believe it’s where I’m meant to be. I’m claiming my destiny and I want to finish what we started. Together.”
Kai smiled. “Me too. But how are we going to get out of here?” he asked looking through our protective bubble to the battle that ensued.
The rebels and Betos clashed with the Ravinori. The lagoon was hissing as I watched Terran, Jovi, Eja and Sadie fight against the lost souls trying to scramble to shore. With the Bridge of the Gods open it was only a matter of time before the Elder summoned Ravin. The scene sliced through my mind with recognition. I’d had this exact vision when I touched one of the Tapestries of Truth. My stomach dropped at the memory of the lifeless faces of my friends.
I would not let that be their fate.
I knew what I had to do. I sprang into action, releasing the fissure and bounding through the raging battlefield to the stone table, where the blood stone menacingly pulsed. I grabbed it, my flesh blistering away from the black magic it wielded. I held it high above my head and called forth all of my power. I opened my mind and heart to all those who’d died for me and all the Truiets who had senselessly lost their lives to create this stone. I felt their strength coil around my bones like a magic fiber—making whole again all that my destiny had stolen.
I locked eyes with the Elder across the battlefield and smiled before I squeezed the stone with all my strength, claiming vengeance for all the love and hope he’d stolen from the world.
With a deafening crack, the stone exploded.
“NO!” The Elder’s cry ripped through me as the cave erupted into pandemonium from the shockwave of power and light blasting through it. The earth shook and the cavern walls began to groan. Giant chunks of rock fell into the churning lagoon.
Kai limped to my side. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
“I have to seal the Bridge of the Gods!” I yelled over the mêlée.
I turned to run toward the lagoon but the Elder blocked my path. “You will pay,” he growled.
Kai jumped protectively between us but the Elder knocked him aside with a brush of his hand like he was nothing more than a pestering insect. Kai’s body lay crumpled on the ground, unmoving.
“Kai!” I shouted, but the Elder grabbed my throat and swiftly disarmed me. With the relic in his grasp, his powers swelled, kicking up a billowing wind that I could do nothing against. His grasp was more draining on my powers than the cuffs had ever been. The Elder laughed as he watched me struggle and come to the terrifying realization that I was powerless against him while he possessed the relic. He twisted my arms behind my back and hauled me to the water’s edge.
